Other XY OU Viability Ranking Thread (V2) (Last update on post #5189)

[Ajwf]

No, the thing about hippo's single typing is most of his matchups are not favorably by typing. Solo ground is not a fantastic type, weak to water, grass and ice, and only resisting poison and rock with immunities to electric. Poison isn't a terrific resist by any means, and while rock is nice, there's only two stab users in OU. And terrak will 2hko with CB CC, but I'm not sure that's a thing so w/e.

Anyways, most of hippo's matchups are vs pokemon with neutral attacks. Being one of the most usable bulky walls, I had hoped it would answer mawile (when everything else fails, sheer bulk might succeed). I was also disappointed by the ZardX thing as mentioned

+1 252+ Atk Tough Claws Mega Charizard X Flare Blitz vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Hippowdon: 276-325 (65.7 - 77.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
4 Atk Hippowdon Earthquake vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Mega Charizard X: 218-258 (73.1 - 86.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after sandstorm damage

Which, while Zard is heavily damaged, Hippo still loses this hypothetical perfect health scenario. Obviously not what I wanted in hypothetical because I can't expect better in practice.

The story is kinda similar all through OU. Generally gets aegi, can lose to toxic aegislash. Will get bisharp, which is definitely nice. Can generally counter conkeldurr but for stall that's not really an accomplishment. Cannot beat Dragonite unless it carries roar, in which case it cannot damage Dnite outside of sand. SD chomp wins, chain chomp wins... General chomp, however, does not. God forbid a mega chomp... Checks heatran, still risks burn if countering. Cannot damage landorus-t outside of spamming a toxic at it. Of course, this means it can't stop rocks but w/e. Lando doesn't carry SD much. Pinsir-mega plows through, but that's not unusual. We've seen mawile. Roost Scizor is going to set up all over you.

In all honesty, I don't see the reason he's so high. Toxic/SlackOff/EQ/Rocks, right? 4mss to the max as he wants roar and ice fang. Or Rock Tomb, Idk. I've used hippo this gen and he can wall well enough, it's just god forbid the opponent from having a flying type or something that can recover EQ damage.

 

[JebusChrist]

+1 252+ Atk Tough Claws Mega Charizard X Flare Blitz vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Hippowdon: 276-325 (65.7 - 77.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
4 Atk Hippowdon Earthquake vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Mega Charizard X: 218-258 (73.1 - 86.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after sandstorm damage

Which, while Zard is heavily damaged, Hippo still loses this hypothetical perfect health scenario. Obviously not what I wanted in hypothetical because I can't expect better in practice.

Hippowdon does min 73% with one EQ, that plus Sandstorm damage AND the Flare Blitz recoil is going to kill Zard right there, which means at worst (for Hippowdon), they both die

 

[Ajwf]

I did forget about Flare blitz recoil there. However, that does assume it is max speed zardx... That could be the trend but I know bulky zardx exists as well.

 

[Red Cat]

I did forget about Flare blitz recoil there. However, that does assume it is max speed zardx... That could be the trend but I know bulky zardx exists as well.

The Bulky DD set in Charizard's analysis gives EVs of 248 HP / 152 Atk / 108 Spd for Charizard. Hippowdon's Earthquake does 60.7% minimum to Charizard. Three turns of sand damage does 18.75%. Charizard takes 17.5% minimum from Flare Blitz recoil if it tries to 2HKO with Dragon Claw and Flare Blitz after Dragon Dance. So Charizard loses a minimum of 96.95% of its health killing Hippowdon. If Hippowdon gets a decent roll on Earthquake, Charizard is dead.

 

[Jacks0n]

Just some middling around the lower B ranks...

Mew for B- Mew has its niche in being a defogger or stall breaker, both of which have better options. If mew defog's, bisharp is definately going to come in, even if mew runs enough speed to outspeed bish to will-o-wisp it is still dying to an unboosted knock off. Mew could run superpower to be able to defog then kill bisharp, but it then does nothing outside of stopping bisharp and defogging. On the other hand, a defogger such as zap can also stop fly spam while a defobger like latias/latios with hidden power fighting can stop keldeo and zard y aswell as check bisharp while defogging, also skarm can check countless threats, defog and then counter or phaze out bish. Using mew as a deffoger just to stop bisharp is a pretty bad idea because there are other deffogers that can do that aswell as check other threats. As a stall breaker it is outclassed by gengar because gengar has a very spamable stab and better typing, even if mew has better bulk. Overall mew is outclassed as a deffoger and a stall breaker and dies to one of the most common pokemon in aegislash and is complete set up bait for zard x. Lastly mew, although bulky, isn't too bulky and whatever side it boosts on, the opposite side won't be able to take hits. The fact that mew is pretty much outclassed at its roles and loses to top tier theats really means it doesn't deserve the B rank.

Entei for B- Entei is easily at the level of the other B- pokes. With one of the best spammable moves in existence, sacred fire, not even pokemon that resist its hits will want to switch in in fear of burn. Sacred fire is just soo good and banded sacred fire actually kills so many pokemon. Entei has moves in its arsenal such as bulldoze, which allow it to get past its premier check and only real check, heatran aswell as extreme speed to be a nightmare for weakened offence, this thing is actually good. Entei just has the most spammable move ever that cripples all defencive switch ins with a burn and outright KO's all offencive pokemon if given the chance. Entei should move up because it has good attack, decent bulk and one of the most spammable moves ever and a good priority move in extreme speed that allow it to destroy a lot of teams

Rotom Heat for B- I don't know why this hasn't happened yet, this thing actually checks a lot of top tier threats. Rotom heat checks zard y, bisharp, landorus i, thundurus, sand rush excadrill, mega pinsir, tflame, mega scizor, mega mawhile, ferrothorn, breloom, skarmory ect. The fact that it checks so many top tier threats really shouldn't allow it to be any lower than B-. A good pivot and great with special or physical bulk, access to wil-o-wisp and thunder wave and a powerful stab in overheat, even unboosted. The things that hold rotom heat back are its stealth rock weakness, its weakness to powerful waters such as keldeo and azum, the fact that it is partially outclassed by heatran and the fact that it is set-up bait for zard x withought thunder wave. All in all it checks a lot of threats and would fit snugly in B-.

 

[Albacore]

View attachment 14492Mew for B- Mew has its niche in being a defogger or stall breaker, both of which have better options. If mew defog's, bisharp is definately going to come in, even if mew runs enough speed to outspeed bish to will-o-wisp it is still dying to an unboosted knock off. Mew could run superpower to be able to defog then kill bisharp, but it then does nothing outside of stopping bisharp and defogging. On the other hand, a defogger such as zap can also stop fly spam while a defobger like latias/latios with hidden power fighting can stop keldeo and zard y aswell as check bisharp while defogging, also skarm can check countless threats, defog and then counter or phaze out bish. Using mew as a deffoger just to stop bisharp is a pretty bad idea because there are other deffogers that can do that aswell as check other threats. As a stall breaker it is outclassed by gengar because gengar has a very spamable stab and better typing, even if mew has better bulk. Overall mew is outclassed as a deffoger and a stall breaker and dies to one of the most common pokemon in aegislash and is complete set up bait for zard x. Lastly mew, although bulky, isn't too bulky and whatever side it boosts on, the opposite side won't be able to take hits. The fact that mew is pretty much outclassed at its roles and loses to top tier theats really means it doesn't deserve the B rank.

I'd argue Mew for B+ actually. Mew has a fantastic niche in being pretty much the only defogger neither Defiant abuser really wants to switch into because of the threat of WoW. "If mew defog's, bisharp is definately going to come in" lol this makes no sense, how can you tell if Mew is going to Defog or WoW, and even if it does Defog, Mew can just WoW next turn and Bisharp is basically disabled. Mew is pretty much the only Pokemon that can defog in Bisharp's face and still claim to "beat" it, since even if it loses, Bisharp also loses, unless he's backed up with Cleric support which is rare on HO. No competent player would ever switch Bisharp into Mew unless it's Jolly, since Bisharp simply cannot come out of this scenario the winner.
And Mew isn't deadweight outside of Defog : the combination of Taunt and Will-O-Wisp can be a nightmare for Stall teams and, unlike Gengar, Mew has actual bulk and reliablr recovery to abuse (the latter of which you seem to be completely ignoring), so it definitely isn't outclassed.
Also, I'm not sure where you get the idea that Mew dies to a neural Knock Off when it actually doesn't : 252+ Atk Life Orb Bisharp Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 252 HP / 236+ Def Mew: 322-382 (79.7 - 94.5%) -- 50% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock (0% after 2 turns of Lefties recovery). Furthermore, Bisharp is not hitting Mew with a neutral Knock Off unless switches in on a Defog, which as I explained won't happen.
In fact, Mew's solid bulk stops it from being Pursuit trapped quite as easily as you'd think. Bisharp obviously can't OHKO it with Pursuit, and Life Orb Aegislash deals around 40% which Mew can just roost off later.
Yes, losing to Aegislash sucks. But Latios does that too, and it's still one of the best defoggers in the tier. Honestly, I find Mew to be a better defogger than Zapdos right now, and certainly not worthy of B-.

 

[Buzz Lux]

Might drop hippo down a rank... I agree, Skarm/Hippo kinda are about the same level of importance. Skarm has the crucial counter to pinsir who is a poke that isn't terribly common but stall can't afford to ignore it. Hippo can set exca up to sweep, but TTar does that a bit better. Defensively, hippo has great bulk but falls short on a lot of the pokemon I wish he'd counter (falls short of zardx just a bit, can't counter SD Mawile although he's so close... a little residual puts him over the edge. Think I'm kidding?)

+2 252+ Atk Huge Power Mega Mawile Play Rough vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Hippowdon: 357-420 (85 - 100%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO

He's so close to losing and obviously eq can't KO. It's just so many mons that Hippo could counter and would make him instantly premier physical wall... but no, he just falls short.

OML Hippo walls shit better than Skarm is. It's one of the best physical walls in the meta atm, and when you invest on Special Defense you also have reasonable mixed bulk. Hippo is very good IMO, this thing can actually fight back with its meaty 112 attack, and Skarm can't even put a dent on things it needs to wall.
And not to mention that being able to wall ZardX is an incredible accomplishment for Physical Walls.

HIPPO STAYS IN A RANK.

 

[Buzz Lux]

I'd argue Mew for B+ actually. Mew has a fantastic niche in being pretty much the only defogger neither Defiant abuser really wants to switch into because of the threat of WoW. "If mew defog's, bisharp is definately going to come in" lol this makes no sense, how can you tell if Mew is going to Defog or WoW, and even if it does Defog, Mew can just WoW next turn and Bisharp is basically disabled. Mew is pretty much the only Pokemon that can defog in Bisharp's face and still claim to "beat" it, since even if it loses, Bisharp also loses, unless he's backed up with Cleric support which is rare on HO. (I guess you could say Skarmory can also defog on Bish and then phase out Bish, Whirlwind isn't as permanent an answer to Bisharp as WoW, and also Skarm just flat-out loses to Thundurus). No competent player would ever switch Bisharp into Mew unless it's Jolly, since Bisharp simply cannot come out of this scenario the winner.
And Mew isn't deadweight outside of Defog : the combination of Taunt and Will-O-Wisp can be a nightmare for Stall teams and, unlike Gengar, Mew has actual bulk and reliablr recovery to abuse (the latter of which you seem to be completely ignoring), so it definitely isn't outclassed.
Also, I'm not sure where you get the idea that Mew dies to a neural Knock Off when it actually doesn't : 252+ Atk Life Orb Bisharp Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 252 HP / 236+ Def Mew: 322-382 (79.7 - 94.5%) -- 50% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock (0% after 2 turns of Lefties recovery). Furthermore, Bisharp is not hitting Mew with a neutral Knock Off unless switches in on a Defog, which as I explained won't happen.
In fact, Mew's solid bulk stops it from being Pursuit trapped quite as easily as you'd think. Bisharp obviously can't OHKO it with Pursuit, and Life Orb Aegislash deals around 40% which Mew can just roost off later.
Yes, losing to Aegislash sucks. But Latios does that too, and it's still one of the best defoggers in the tier. Honestly, I find Mew to be a better defogger than Zapdos right now, and certainly not worthy of B-.

I also agree that Mew is deserving of B+ Rank.
Yes, it may have once of the worst typing defensively because of the Dark and Ghost spam in the tier, but its true selling point is it relative versatility that is nigh unmatched in the meta atm, maybe Smeargle is versatile as Mew is but its stats are shit, while Mew has respectable base stats.
You can choose to run Defog+WoW, you can also tailor slots so you can check a plethora of troublesome mons, and you can even fit in in a Baton Pass team.
Mew's versatility is ridiculous, and it deserves B+ Rank.

 

[Giometry]

Ferrothorn ==> A+
Ferrothorn is an amazing defensive mon in this meta. Although it does lose to the Zards, the genies, and Chomp Ferro checks so many powerful forces in the meta it's insane (Azumarill, Gyarados, Scizor, Tyranitar). Not only is it an amazing defensive mon it also has an amazing support move pool such as Sneaky Pebbles and Spikes, survivability in Leech Seed/Protect Combo, and is not set up bait thanks to Gyro Ball off of a tiny speed and power whip from a respectable attack stat. Ferro is currently one of the top defensive and support mons in the tier and is deserving of A+.

 

[Ninja Charizard]

I also agree that Mew is deserving of B+ Rank.
Yes, it may have once of the worst typing defensively because of the Dark and Ghost spam in the tier, but its true selling point is it relative versatility that is nigh unmatched in the meta atm, maybe Smeargle is versatile as Mew is but its stats are shit, while Mew has respectable base stats.
You can choose to run Defog+WoW, you can also tailor slots so you can check a plethora of troublesome mons, and you can even fit in in a Baton Pass team.
Mew's versatility is ridiculous, and it deserves B+ Rank.

I second this.

Mew is freaking scary to face. It has good defensive stats, and it can do pretty much anything. It's like facing a Smeargle with bulk. It can burn you, it can boosts its defenses, it can deal a good damage on both physical and special sides, it can defog, it can knock off, it can taunt, it can heal itself. There is no limit to what it can do. The typing is bad, but is not a deal breaker.

I've been seeing it a lot in the suspect ladder. It's common on stall teams and balanced teams. And it's always a major pain in the ass to beat.

 

[Giometry]

I second this.

Mew is freaking scary to face. It has good defensive stats, and it can do pretty much anything. It's like facing a Smeargle with bulk. It can burn you, it can boosts its defenses, it can deal a good damage, it can defog, there is no limit to what it can't do. The typing is bad, but is not a deal breaker.

I've been seeing it a lot in the suspect ladder. It's common on stall teams and balanced teams. And it's always a major pain in the ass to beat.

Thirded,
Mew has incredible versatility with the ability to run an amazing support set. Thanks to its near endless movepool and good 100 across the board base stats Mew is able to be very effective at its job and can tailor its moveset to match whatever your team needs. Its Defog+Wisp set is immensely effective at hazard control as it can burn any would be defiant users on the switch. Mew's versatility should never be underestimated.

 

[procrastinat]

I also agree that Mew is deserving of B+ Rank.
Yes, it may have once of the worst typing defensively because of the Dark and Ghost spam in the tier, but its true selling point is it relative versatility that is nigh unmatched in the meta atm, maybe Smeargle is versatile as Mew is but its stats are shit, while Mew has respectable base stats.
You can choose to run Defog+WoW, you can also tailor slots so you can check a plethora of troublesome mons, and you can even fit in in a Baton Pass team.
Mew's versatility is ridiculous, and it deserves B+ Rank.

I agree with this as well, for all of the reasons previously stated.

 

[Buzz Lux]

Goth is barely, not even worthy of B, it's sure as fuck not B+. It kinda does something sometime against offense but it's basically a dead weight and ends up being death fodder. It's like playing 5v6 every offensive matchup, which is pretty silly. If stall was very prominent or even close to on par with offense in terms of usage and effectiveness, Goth would be much better, but it struggles in such an offensive metagame. Also if your main goal is to trap Steels for something like Pinsir, then Mag basically outclasses it because it handles Ferro/Skarm and ISN'T dead weight against offense, as it has a defensive/offensive typing that lets it check things like Talonflame, Mega Scizor (which with some Speed it can revenge kill easily), Azumarill, CM Clefable, Thundy without a Fighting move, Latios, physically biased KyuB, etc.; and it hits insanely hard. Anyways that's sorta irrelevant, you really get more out of lures and stall breakers like Mew and Gengar, which are useful in every matchup, not just stall because of their capabilities outside of such that Gothitelle lacks. If anything I'd advocate for Goth to be moved down to B-, it's really not that good.

Totes agree with this. Goth deserves B rank IMO. Yes, it's deadweight to most of teams but it just literally rips apart ALL defensive teams. The fact that it rips apart VenuTran and SkarmChan is amazing, but it can only take it so far. I don't find Goth THAT deadweight on offense, since it can take on Fighting types and Poison types alike, and can be used as sleep fodder if it's literally the most deadweight in the entire team on some occasions. Goth also fucks up DeoSharp by tricking Specs on both Deo Formes, or by simply chipping away their health. Goth's niche is tried and true, and this is to trap and kill checks/ counters for your sweeper of choice or simply be a formidable stallbreaker. GOTHITELLE STAYS IN B RANK.

 

[xSilentDeviL]

Cannot agree with Snorlax being ANYWHERE in the OU tier. This guy is weak to Fighting, the second most common typing in the metagame. Snorlax is more or less (in my opinion) A UU CB CS or tank, if not RU.

It also is immune to possibly the best current single attacking type, and pulls a decent AV set like has been said.

 

[Gazel]

Well, do you want them to drop or go up? you can't just say "mmm" and be done with it. Personally I think they are both fine where they are, but please, give us your opinion.

i think they should switch the position bewtween Hyppo and skarm

 

[Gary]

Guys if someone posts about Zard-Y just show them this

''CONCLUSION REACHED'' POKEMON: Pokemon in this list have reached a conclusive ideal ranking, so unless the metagame changes towards them or there is something about them that hasn't been said, discussion about them is disallowed.

• Mega Charizard Y

No need to sit there and call them retarded lol.

 

[Flamer]

i think they should switch the position bewtween Hyppo and skarm

Why would you say this? In my experience, Hippo is by far the superior option to Skarm. Hippo not only has similar physical bulk but much better mixed bulk, usable offensive stats and a much better ability. Skarm destroys momentum and is unable to beat most of what it counters.

 

[chive]

Why would you say this? In my experience, Hippo is by far the superior option to Skarm. Hippo not only has similar physical bulk but much better mixed bulk, usable offensive stats and a much better ability. Skarm destroys momentum and is unable to beat most of what it counters.

Skarm has much better typing though. It's one of the few defoggers that are not weak to Rocks, and it also can't be worn down by Toxic. While it does have considerably less offensive presence compared to Hippo, it does have a better support movepool though, most notably Defog & Spikes. It can also beat some of the things it counters with (no pun intended) Counter, that involves some prediction though.

 

[TFL]

Aj already mentioned Hippowdon's issue. While its bulk is immense, it just doesn't have the typing to allow it to switch in on what it wants to. It has to be at full health every single time. And that's if you use Hippowdon's defensive set for Mega Charizard X, Mega Mawile, Bisharp, Terrakion, etc. The special defensive set is better imo, because it's a good check for a much wider pool of mons and fits in bulky offense teams, where its defensive capabilities can be backed up by offense to prevent the team from being broken.

Anywho, Hippowdon often finds it overextending itself and there's no way I can call it better than Skarmory or Breloom now. Drop it to A-. Remember, when it was put in A, you were seeing it on almost every other SPL team. That didn't last too long, it's high time it be brought down a bit.

Hippowdon -> A-

And for the record, Gary2346, I wanted Krookodile to stay at C+ :)

 

[jbtc10]

The only thing that would be potentially keeping Hippo in A is being a sand inducer that has reliable recovery unlike Tyranitar, but the overwhelming majority of sand teams in the present moment prefer Tyranitar for that role for his much greater offensive ability and versatility so until that ever changes, going down to A- is fine because he's competing with other walls who he definitely isn't better than (Skarm, Mandi, etc).

Heatran could be in a similar boat to be honest and I raised that point a few pages back but it didn't get any discussion, so let me ask: what do people think about Heatran and does he still deserve A or would a drop to A- be more appropriate?

 

[Sucker Lunch]

Just want to put my quick input on Mega Pinsir. I believe he's still an A+ threat and were currently downplaying him. Right now, the meta is prepared for him like nothing else. Eventually, people will prepare less for Pinsir and more for Mawile, Roost Scizor, and the Bulky DDers that I soon think are going to turn this meta on it's head. I haven't really laddered for a month but I went out wondering how in the world are people dealing with these guys if they're so prepared for First Class Rapemail and Sweeperella. Long story short, Bird Spam is gonna return later on, Pinsir will probably drop to A in the upcoming months and then return to A+ once people realize how centralizing this thing is.

 

[boo118]

The only thing that would be potentially keeping Hippo in A is being a sand inducer that has reliable recovery unlike Tyranitar, but the overwhelming majority of sand teams in the present moment prefer Tyranitar for that role for his much greater offensive ability and versatility so until that ever changes, going down to A- is fine because he's competing with other walls who he definitely isn't better than (Skarm, Mandi, etc).

Heatran could be in a similar boat to be honest and I raised that point a few pages back but it didn't get any discussion, so let me ask: what do people think about Heatran and does he still deserve A or would a drop to A- be more appropriate?

Hippo and Ttar have totally different roles, each can play a different role in being a sand inducer. Hippo with its Humongous HP stat, great defence and mediocre Spdef. Coupled with its great attack makes it an impressive tank with solid recovery. Because its speed isn't up to par and it doesnt have a mixed attacking presence, i couldn't imagine using Hippo on a offensive sand team. That being said, I feel Hippo is the best sand inducer out of the two if you want reliable weather almost all the time, with its recovery, bulk and an overall better typing than ttar.

However, I feel ttar has adapted to the more offensive nature of 6th gen meta. Ttar is a great lead/scarfer/offensive presence with its mediocre speed and amazing coverage. Ttar is extremely hard to wall if it is a mixed set, with moves like ice beam/fire blast/stone edge at its disposal. I feel like Ttar fits better on offensive sand teams, where you just want it to set up rocks and the sand so that excadrill/garchomp can run rampant on the opposition. You could also go mega with the contemporary DD set up. This provides TTar with the ability to sweep mid game after weakening/killing off its major threats, be it skarm/lando t/scizor

Overall, I think they both have there uses on different types of teams. Ttar on a more offensive (maybe HO) team. And hippo works well in sand stall or balanced. Being a reliable weather inducer and a decent wall. However, considering the more offensive and quick paced nature of gen6, i believe that TTar is a better mon overall.

 

[Ninja Charizard]

Guys if someone posts about Zard-Y just show them this



No need to sit there and call them retarded lol.

We could link to the post explaining why Charizard Y is A+ in the conclusion reached list, so people wouldn't have to look for it in the thread.

 

[Baharoth]

Hippo is kinda problematic for me. I realy feel like it deserves its A ranking when i look at how well it works and how much stuff it can check on both sides, from physical defensive over mixed spreads to specialy defensive Hippo can be build to stop almost everything you want. However when looking at other defensive mons like Skarm and Chansey i wouldnt say its better than those 2. Unlike them it can be used outside of stall teams but thats basicly the only thing it has over them.

Because of that imo Hippo should either be moved down to the others or Skarm and Chansey should be moved up.

And while we are at it, I still think that Ferrothorn should be moved down to A-. Most of the things its supposed to check often run coverage moves to beat it and with its 4x weakness a suprise Fireblast can often mean your one pokemon down. Fire and Fighting moves are basicly everywhere right now which isnt realy helpful for Ferro, it also suffers alot from burn hindering its ability to take on bulky waters as he will catch a burn sooner or later. Another issue is 4mss. It needs Leech Seed to gain health and if possible Protect to scout and stall for recovery. You also need Powerwhip if you want to do something against the things you want to check. Even if Gyara cant do much against Ferro, with only Leech Seed to damage it it will probably have enough time to boost up and break through. Then you need Gyroball to damage things like the Latis and in general not be set/taunt bait. And then you also want support moves like T-wave, Stealth Rocks and Spikes. As a defensive SR setter there are far better options available like Heatran or Hippowdon. In general when comparing it to the other defensive mons in A- its hardly even on par with them and certainly not above them. Its recovery is unrealiable and gives the opponent free turns when using Protect and there is only one Pokemon it can safely check, Gyarados. Azumarill can have CB Superpower and almost everything else has access to Fire/Fighting coverage like the Latis, Garchomp, TTar, Dragonite etc. It cant even stop things like Mega Scizor as they will just set up all over it.


I also think that Mandibuzz should be moved down to B+. Its bulk along with its SR weakness just doesnt cut it. So many things its supposed to wall can break it with SR on the field like CB Talonflame, Breloom or Life Orb Excadrill. Its reliance on Foul Play also invite things like Thundurus to come in more or less for free and force it out. It also has a difficult time stopping common set up sweepers like Pinsir, TTar and with some prior damage even Mega Gyara or Charizard X. Its still a good stop to Aegi and Mega Scizor but there are just so many things that can force it out or outright kill it which isnt a good thing with its SR weakness and the fact that its used as a Defoger. I usually pick Zapdos over Mandibuzz because it simply checks far more things than Mandybuzz.

 

[Sergeant Spooky]

Ferrothorn is good hazard support, and it's really annoying with T-Wave/Leech Seed/Iron Barbs. What you're doing is going down the list of mons and seeing which ones can NEVER touch Ferrothorn, see that it's pretty much just Gyarados, and going "oh I guess it can only check Gyarados" when it CAN check Azumarill, Mega Venusaur, Clefable, T-Tar, D'Nite, Lati@s, etc. No it doesn't beat every single set but it beats them IF they don't have Super Power/HP Fire/Flamethrower/Fire Blast/Fire Punch/(I honestly have not see an HP Fire Lati@s in the longest time,) and not every one of these you run in to is going to have these moves. That's why it's a *check.* And no it can't run T-Wave/Seed/Protect/Gyro/Whip/Rocks/Spikes at the same time, but it doesn't really have to and it doesn't become non-functional if you can't.

Mandibuzz has Knock Off so a lot of things that try to switch in on it are going to be at the very least inconvenienced. Mandibuzz IMO is really comparable to Skarm:
+Mandibuzz has STAB Foul Play, which means it can deal heavy damage to a lot of physical attackers, and Knock Off which is really annoying
+and it is is physically bulkier than Skarm
-but has less resistances
+but has a lot of special bulk actually so it can do do stuff like stand up to non-CM Landorus, which is actually pretty impressive
-but it's weak to SR
+but has a reasonably fast taunt so it can prevent some things like Skarmory, Ferrothorn and Hippo from laying any hazards, and shut down opposing walls. Pretty much just Terrakion and T-tar (and Taunt Deo-D/S,) as hazard setters, are threatening to Mandibuzz, but Mandibuzz can beat T-tar anyway cause Roost removes your rock weakness (and Mandi is so bulky it only take like half from STAB SE Stone Edge.)
-no hazards though, unlike Skarm

It's a pretty good mon, and honestly I think it's a bit better than Skarm unless you're running full stall. I'd sooner move it to A than move it down to B+.