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

[Anty]

Okay, so there's a Pokemon who I think is a little bit high up rank wise
Talonflame
Now, before you rant at me saying that Talonflame is the bringer of a brand new play style and that I shouldn't dare question it's ranking, let me explain.
1. It's typing
I honestly think that Fire/Flying is one of the worst typings in the entire game. 4x weak to Rock, weak to Electric and lose the resilience to Ice for what? Immunity to Ground? A 4x resist to Grass? I honestly think that the typing is overrated as hell, and is just bad. But what does this have to do with its viability? Well considering you pretty much HAVE to have a Rapid Spinner/Defogger in order to make sure it does something isn't exactly ideal. And while I know that this detracts very little from its viability (Look at Charizard X) it's still something I have to point out.
2. It's move pool
It's decent, you got your powerhouse moves like Brave Bird and Flare Blitz, set up moves like Swords Dance and Bulk Up, and even some support moves like Tailwind and Will-OWisp. But mostly it's the same set of
Flare Blitz
Brave Bird
U-Turn
Filler (usually Roost)
With a Choice Bamd. It's pretty predictible. Of course it can have Swords Dance in the Filler section and hold a Life Orb, but usually people stick to Choice Band. Which brings me to my next point:
3. It's pretty outclassed (Let me explain!)
Now, you might be thinking to yourself, "How the fuck is Talonflame outclassed? It's the best flying type in OU!" Easy, Staraptor does the basic Talonflame set BETTER.
Now before you rant at me saying "That's just your misinformed opinion! Talonflame is better in every way!" here's the thing, AI have thought of countless situations of how Talonflame could outclass Raptor, and mostly, it fails to deliver. Now I'm not saying Staraptor is 10x better than Flame, I'm saying that in most situations, Staraptor is going to do the same thing as Talonflame, and it's going to do it better. You might be saying "But how does it if Raptor needs a Scarf and Flame can run a Choice Band?"
Easy:
252 Atk Choice Band Talonflame Brave Bird vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Mew: 213-252 (52.7 - 62.3%) -- 99.6% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 Atk Reckless Staraptor Brave Bird vs. 252 HP / 4 Def Mew: 222-262 (54.9 - 64.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
Yeah, whole it doesn't make THAT much of a difference, it still proves my point on a pure damage point, Raptor is better
Of course there are 2 situations where Talonflame does better against Staraptor:
Vs Aegislash
Vs Azumarill
Aegislash walls Raptor to hell and back, while Talonflame has a decent shot at killing it with the right prediction
Azumarill however...
252 Atk Choice Band Talonflame Brave Bird vs. 52 HP / 0 Def Azumarill: 258-304 (72.8 - 85.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Okay so imagine the situation. You just switched your Talonflame into a BellyJet Azumarill (Yes I know they don't always run 52HP) and you predicted the Belly Drum. Since Azu forced the switch it'll be at 75% HP (Sitrus Berry) so you have a very high chance of OHKOing it with Brave Bird (with rocks? 100% chance)
Of course Staraptor can't outspeed Azumarills priority and would die
+6 252+ Atk Huge Power Azumarill Aqua Jet vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Staraptor: 424-501 (135.8 - 160.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO
(To be fair, Raptor guarantees the KO at 75%)
But those are the only two examples I could think of where Talonflame outdoes Raptor. Now I'm not saying that they need to swap places or anything, but my point IS that if a Pokemon in A+ is being outclassed in a good number of ways by a Pokemon in B-, something is up with their rankings! (Or is Gale Wings THAT good?)
TL:DR (Wouldn't blame you if you didn't XD) Talonlfame is ranked a little too high IMHO and needs to move down to A/A-
(I have more points like how if Charizard is the most used mon, people are adapting to it and thus adapting to Talonflame simultaneously, but these are the main points I wanted to bring up)

I shall address your points in the same fashion:
1. Although its type means its weak to rocks doesnt make it bad. It also has some very nice resistances to bug, fairy, fighting, an immunity to ground as well as an immunity to burn, which is amazing for a physical sweeper. It has flying STAB witch is still very nice although bird spam has died out.
So what if it needs a spinner/defogger, most teams have one anyway. Hazards are much more common now with deosharp. No team likes hazards and plenty of playstyles need hazard removal to be more effective (stall). Talon could be positive in that sense, with the presense of talon, the opponent is more likely to want to set up rocks in order to cripple it, giving you a free term (not great example but talon does put pressure to set up hazards)

2. A lot of pokes have a limited movepool and are predictable (deo-d, greninja) but it doesnt mean theyre bad. Talons dual stabs are quite enough and it can easily uturn out on incoming heatran or even burn ttar.

3. Are you actually saying it is outclassed by staraptor? They both have completely different roles, staraptor is a wall breaker, talon is a revenge killer or a sweeper. Imo, they shouldnt be compared, especcially not if your saying the more useful one is worse. Talon and staraptor have different roles, talon is better at its role than staraptor is at its role. DONT SAY STARAPTOR IS BETTER. If youre saying staraptor outclasses talon, why are you saying talon should be a higher rank than raptor?

 

[LZH14]

you're comparing pokemon with different roles entirely, ofc wallbreaker staraptor is going to outclass wallbreaker tflame but tflame's RK ability and setup infinitely outclass staraptor
cbflame is annoying as hell, i have yet to find something that completely walls tflame not named heatran (seriously, anyone know? i'd rather not run heatran on literally every team)
honestly if tflame didnt have priority bb, it probably wouldnt be nearly as good but that's why we all use this bird to arserape everything. cbflame gets enough relevant RKs on weakened or not as bulky targets to justify its ranking

 

[acestriker19]

Sorry to interrupt this riveting Talonflame discussion, but I have to ask, why is Victini B- when Entei is C+? Of course Victini is more powerful with V-Create but the cost of using Victini is so high. Banded Victini and Banded Entei both wallbreak by using strong fire-type moves and while Victini's is significantly stronger common OU Pokemon such as Garchomp, Zard X, Dragonite, Slowbro, and Heatran can still switch-in tank a V-Create and force Victini out, whereas Entei can deter both walls and physical attackers from switchin thanks to Sacred Fire's 50% burn chance which can wear down and cripple checks and counters. Victini does have better coverage with Bolt Strike but the only two relevant mons it hits are Slowbro who is quite uncommon and Azumarill (who doesn't want to switch in to Entei either because of the burn chance). Entei's two largest counters Zard X and Heatran are also killed by Entei's appropriate coverage . V-Create drawback of lowering speed and defense makes Victini way more costly to use. With the rising popularity of pursuit trappers in OU Victini can be RK really easily and can be checked really easily as well since the defense drop makes it able to be KOed by neutral moves allowing opponents to more freely predict switch-ins. By contrast Entei's Sacred Fire has no drawbacks and it's mono-typing is superior to Victini's Dual typing that leaves it weak to two of the most prominent types in the metagame. Victini's special set is outclassed as a wallbreaker by Zard-Y. Victini's Scarf set also is fairly poor as 4 of the most prominent dragon dancers: Charizard-X, Gyarados, T-tar and Dragonite resist fire type moves. Entei can act as a revenge killer without evening using a scarf because it has Extremespeed which hits hard against HO teams when banded. Victini's poor speed means it's near useless against most HO teams in the meta. Unless I'm sorely mistaken I find it hard to see why Victini is a whole rank above Entei because it hits harder while Entei does lots of things better than Victini. They should at least both be C+ if not swap places.

 

[procrastinat]

Sorry to interrupt this riveting Talonflame discussion, but I have to ask, why is Victini B- when Entei is C+? Of course Victini is more powerful with V-Create but the cost of using Victini is so high. Banded Victini and Banded Entei both wallbreak by using strong fire-type moves and while Victini's is significantly stronger common OU Pokemon such as Garchomp, Zard X, Dragonite, Slowbro, and Heatran can still switch-in tank a V-Create and force Victini out, whereas Entei can deter both walls and physical attackers from switchin thanks to Sacred Fire's 50% burn chance which can wear down and cripple checks and counters. Victini does have better coverage with Bolt Strike but the only two relevant mons it hits are Slowbro who is quite uncommon and Azumarill (who doesn't want to switch in to Entei either because of the burn chance). Entei's two largest counters Zard X and Heatran are also killed by Entei's appropriate coverage . V-Create drawback of lowering speed and defense makes Victini way more costly to use. With the rising popularity of pursuit trappers in OU Victini can be RK really easily and can be checked really easily as well since the defense drop makes it able to be KOed by neutral moves allowing opponents to more freely predict switch-ins. By contrast Entei's Sacred Fire has no drawbacks and it's mono-typing is superior to Victini's Dual typing that leaves it weak to two of the most prominent types in the metagame. Victini's special set is outclassed as a wallbreaker by Zard-Y. Victini's Scarf set also is fairly poor as 4 of the most prominent dragon dancers: Charizard-X, Gyarados, T-tar and Dragonite resist fire type moves. Entei can act as a revenge killer without evening using a scarf because it has Extremespeed which hits hard against HO teams when banded. Victini's poor speed means it's near useless against most HO teams in the meta. Unless I'm sorely mistaken I find it hard to see why Victini is a whole rank above Entei because it hits harder while Entei does lots of things better than Victini. They should at least both be C+ if not swap places.

I agree, particularly with the switching places idea. Sacred Fire is just so much more spammable than V-Create for it's burn chance, and Extremespeed is simply as amazing as ever. The Speed drop that v-create has is is it's real downfall though, forcing banded victini to switch out most of the time after just one use, while entei
can continue to stay in and both deal more damage over two turns and fish for burns. Entei can both wallbreak and revenge kill in one set while Victini stuggles to do either of them in 2 sets. Also, Victini's slightly superior bulk is compromised by an inferior typing. However, Victini does have a few other tricks, like U-Turn and Trick room, but these aren't enough to salvage it from dropping IMO. Victini to C+, Entei to B-.

 

[Ropeburn]

Unless I'm sorely mistaken I find it hard to see why Victini is a whole rank above Entei because it hits harder while Entei does lots of things better than Victini. They should at least both be C+ if not swap places.

I wouldn't mind this at all, personally. I fail to see what makes Victini a rank above Entei when the ladder has almost guaranteed burns, a more convenient typing, and Priority. Victini is a great wallbreaker, but being psychic and with how cluttered the 100 speed rank is, it has difficulty justifying its use even if its Choice sets are deadly.

That's not to say Victini is bad, but when half of the A ranking can easily check him, that's a problem. Entei's checks and counters hate getting burned or hit by Bulldoze/Stone Edge and it runs a pretty solid Assault Vest set. I also put my vote on Victini to C+ and Entei to B-.

 

[kabbes]

CB revenge killer Talonflame is very good indeed, but bulk-up Talonflame is amazing. I have no idea why it isn't played more. It's really hard to kill, roosts with priority (incidentally halving weakness to lightning, ice and rock at the same time for one turn only, which is very handy), spreads burns and once it starts the bulk-up it rapidly becomes a total monster with a priority killer STAB. I've swept so many times with it that it isn't funny.

 

[Valmanway]

CB revenge killer Talonflame is very good indeed, but bulk-up Talonflame is amazing. I have no idea why it isn't played more. It's really hard to kill, roosts with priority (incidentally halving weakness to lightning, ice and rock at the same time for one turn only, which is very handy), spreads burns and once it starts the bulk-up it rapidly becomes a total monster with a priority killer STAB. I've swept so many times with it that it isn't funny.

I think people prefer the revenge killing role with CB. I've never used it, but Bulk Up seems difficult to use since Talonflame's stats aren't exactly built for bulk.

 

[Aragorn the King]

I'm a big fan of both Entei and Victini, but I think saying that Entei is superior is wrong. Entei has one set. The set has good coverage, priority, and is the god of hax, but it is fairly predictable and sometimes weak. Victini on the other hand has multiple sets it can run. Most people assume Band V Create is all it can do, but in reality its LO Special Set, Scarf Set, and Trick Room sets are all good / decent. You may think you're safe switching in your physical wall into Victini, only to watch it collapse to a LO boosted Blue Flare or Energy Ball.

Entei is a pain to switch into, a real pain. Sacred Fire hits rather hard and has a 47.5% chance to burn a switch in. It also packs an Extreme Speed more powerful than Lucario's, Stone Edge for Charizard-Y, and Bulldoze for Heatran. Its flaws are notable; it's forced not to be Jolly, has to rely on inaccurate or weak coverage, has a poor defensive typing, and is weak to SR. However, on further inspection, its flaws are much more similar to those of Staraptor and Crawdaunt than they are to Haxorus, Sharpedo, or Thundurus-T. Entei needs a fair share of support to be successful; however, if it gets in safely, it will put in a fair share of work. It of course receives competition from mostly Char-X, but it can differentiate itself with reliable burn + damage in the same turn, Edge-Quake coverage, and priority.

Victini is different. It breaks walls like no other; however if physical it has to hurt itself in doing so. Nevertheless, V Create hits like something else. It has nice, accurate coverage with Bolt Strike, can beat Tyranitar with Brick Break, gather momentum with U-turn, and even beat something it otherwise has no chance of beating with Final Gambit. Its physical sets may seem outclassed, but they have enough to separate themselves from the competition. Its special sets are great for surprising the opponent, and its Blue Flare is still extremely powerful. Its special sets rely on rather inaccurate moves (95%, 93.5%, 77%, and 77%), but they still either hit hard or gain momentum. Lastly, its Scarf set is useful for revenge killing threats that assume that it will be slow.

They both are similar; they are hard hitting Fire types. Both receive competition from Charizard, but are useful because they don't take up a Mega Slot. Both have unique STAB moves that can destroy the opponent (V-Create, Blue Flare, and Sacred Fire), mediocre Speed, good coverage, the ability to revenge kill, and a poor defensive typing. But both, when used properly, can do their job well. They get things done, and are very similar to their fellow wall breakers in the B- tier; Staraptor and Crawdaunt. They need more support than things like Suicune or Lucario, thanks to Fire's relatively poor defensive synergy. However, when you actually look at what they can accomplish in a match, combined with how much competition there is for their role, you should be able to tell that they're better than Hydreigon, Haxorus, Zygarde, Rotom-H, etc.

Overall I think they're about equally as threatening, aren't as outclassed as people as saying, are good Pokemon on their own, and always accomplish something good in a match (unless you do something stupid). Therefore I still maintain my opinion that Victini should stay B- and Entei should go from being C+ to B-.

 

[Ropeburn]

"sigh"
I honestly don't see why Talonflame is so good.
But I'll keep my own (apparently) wrong thoughts to myself.
I'll stop commenting on this thread because everytime I do I'm wrong for some reason :/
Fuck me I'm dumb at times >_<
Edit: deleting the Tflame posts.
Sick of people replying to them.
I GET THE FUCKING POINT
Edit2: done. If anyone ELSE wants to shit on my arguments, go ahead

You need to chill. If you can't handle someone disputing your arguments, this probably isn't the thread for you. No one got hostile with you at any point and only mentioned how you used a bad example.



Anyways, I'd like to bring up Mega Alakazam. I mentioned this a few pages back, but it got buried under some argument about Blissey. I was always under the impression that it was worse than its base form, and faces serious competition with Deoxys-S as a fast revenge killer, and since Victini and Entei were just brought up I feel like Mega Alakazam (B-) and Alakazam(C+) should switch places, as I feel like it's much easier to put a base form Alakazam on a team than Mega Alakazam, but I'd be interested in hearing others' thoughts on them.

 

[procrastinat]

I agree with Megazam moving down. I don't think it has a niche large enough to keep it in B- rank, and is about as effective as sableye or krookodile or shuckle in what it does/can do. It is really fast and strong, able to outspeed base 130's with a modest nature and hitting very hard, but is incredibly frail and falls to most common priority attacks, while most scarfers can outspeed and so can most sweepers at +1, the lack of focus sash really hits it hard. Also, deoxys-s has more speed, with it's higher base power moves (like psycho boost) and life orb it hits about as hard, and can use physical moves effectively.

Can't say anything about Regular Zam really. I haven't used it and on the rare occasions I faced it, it was a more of a nuisance than a threat.

Mega Alakazam should move to C+, and Regular Alakazam should stay in C+.

 

[I AM THE JAMAICAN BOBSLED TEAM]

You need to chill. If you can't handle someone disputing your arguments, this probably isn't the thread for you. No one got hostile with you at any point and only mentioned how you used a bad example.



Anyways, I'd like to bring up Mega Alakazam. I mentioned this a few pages back, but it got buried under some argument about Blissey. I was always under the impression that it was worse than its base form, and faces serious competition with Deoxys-S as a fast revenge killer, and since Victini and Entei were just brought up I feel like Mega Alakazam (B-) and Alakazam(C+) should switch places, as I feel like it's much easier to put a base form Alakazam on a team than Mega Alakazam, but I'd be interested in hearing others' thoughts on them.

The reason mega alakazam is B- and normal alakazam is C+ is because the existence of Deo-S make normal alakazam a (for the most part) outclassed revenge killer. Mega Alakazam however, can use its power and speed to revenge kill in a pinch and clean up almost any team, from an earlier point than deo-s because it doesnt have that nasty spatk lowering effect of psycho boost, and is about on par with it on power. not to mention, it can take advantage of abilities like protean and sheer force to possible sweep at any time during the game, provided priority is gone. the fact its so fast means it can run modest, which makes things die even harder. the fact its so potent vs stall and offense alike is probably enough to keep it in B-, if not bump it up to B. also, contrary to popular belief, mega alakazam can live most common priority in OU at least once and retaliate with a huge move, due to that boosted defense:


252 Atk Aerilate Mega Pinsir Quick Attack vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Mega Alakazam: 138-163 (54.7 - 64.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

4 Atk Aegislash-Blade Shadow Sneak vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Mega Alakazam: 176-210 (69.8 - 83.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

these are the kinds of priority mega alakazam lives. the only priority thats common in OU that OHKOes it is talonflame brave bird, which is impressive for a pokemon thats made out to be a wet paper bag. and yes, its not moving up any higher than B unless deo-s leaves the meta.

 

[kabbes]

I think people prefer the revenge killing role with CB. I've never used it, but Bulk Up seems difficult to use since Talonflame's stats aren't exactly built for bulk.

Revenge kill is useful but bulk up lasts a whole match. It's amazingly flexible, which makes it difficult to predict, and almost any move you select will be useful. It's the first member of my team and the reason I don't use Charizard, because Talonflame works better.

To me, CB Talonflame is A+ but bulk-up Talonflame is S.

 

[Srn]

Hold the phone
Mega Alakazam moving DOWN????

Goddam it hurts me how hard this guy is underrated. It really does just make me shake my head.
Look, if you want the short argument, 150 speed and 175 base sp. att, no matter what the other stats are, is not something that belongs in C.
But if you want an actual argument.... bleah

1. Ridiculous Special attack and Speed.
Yeah, yada yada yada it has fantastic stats and it outspeeds basically everything unboosted and non-scarfed up until mega manectric, which you can choose to outspeed by going timid. Of course, i wouldn't recommend this as you're only losing to one pokemon with modest and the power that it brings otherwise is invaluable, so go modest. With modest, unevolved you can outspeed up to garchomp but no more, so watch out for that.
This guy also has some pretty great neutral coverage, and you can even go hp fire over shadow ball if ferro and scizor are problems and psychics aren't. I personally like to taunt and shadow ball that fucking blob named mew, but hey, your choice, they're both pretty viable. Taunt is more or less standard because it lets you screw stall and baton pass.
Oh.
YOu don't believe me when you say it screws up stall do you?
Well let's look at a typical stall team, TFL's stall for example, teh fgts that never die.
Mega Venu: Psychic
Krook: Focus Blast
Skarm: Shadow Ball/Hp fire, even psychic 2hko's lol
252+ SpA Mega Alakazam Focus Blast vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Skarmory: 241-284 (72.1 - 85%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
Quag: LOL
Gengar: See quagsire
Chansey: The only real stop to this monster.

So, in essence, once you use some pursuit support to weaken chansey just down to a mere 60%, focus blast will 2hko. So let's use bisharp as a partner:
252+ SpA Mega Alakazam Focus Blast vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Eviolite Chansey: 230-272 (32.6 - 38.6%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Stealth Rock
252+ Atk Black Glasses Bisharp Crunch vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Eviolite Chansey: 222-262 (31.5 - 37.2%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Stealth Rock
(Crunch is pursuit on the switch)
So, basically, Mega zam is a wallbreaker. A wallbreaker with 150 base speed. Not even bad.
Here's a replay of this baby in action: http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/oususpecttest-126383961

2. Fk's up baton pass
Trace speed boost from scolipede, psychic OHKO, psychic 2hko everything else you can't taunt. Taunt smeargle, screw spore, yada yada yada just watch this shit:
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/oususpecttest-126112277
It's ez. Mega Zam basically wrecks that shit better than any other mon out there. It's just beautiful man. Beautiful.
(I liek to use terrak with this thing b/c it switches in freely on the defensive dark pokemon that zam can't beat, like mandibuzz and umbreon. Free justified boost.)
Yeah also because baton pass is still a thing, stick with psychic for now so you can kill scolipede even after an iron defense. Go psyshock to hit chansey MUCH harder when baton pass gets nerfed or what not.

3. Taunt+Trace
The amount of utility this man offers with taunt and trace is simply gorgeous. That Specs Kingdra or LO Exca sweeping your ass? Trace swift swim/sand rush, psychic/focus blast, and be happy :]
Come in on greninja/Lando-i for protean/sheer force destruction.
That Lando-T just rock polish'd? Come in and out to spam intimidate
Come in on basically every heatran for free thanks to flash fire, and you can taunt to prevent toxic, roar, or rocks
Tracing Levitate from Lati@s in general is pretty cool too
I traced multiscale from a dnite once, saved my ass bigtime XD
Tracing Thick Fat from mamoswine helps take the ice shard and kill it back as well
Trace Serene Grace from the occasional Togekiss and sp. def drops galore.
Taunt Helps beat basically every lead except deo-s out there, especially deo-d.
But one great Gem everybody always forgets is Thundurus: You can trace prankster and taunt it before it can t-wave you XD
That is just great

With all the utility, power, and speed that this guy brings, all you really have to watch out for is some priority, bisharp, and aegislash, neither of which can switch in regardless. Because your attack is so low, even a foul play from mandibuzz doesn't come close to OHKO:
4 Atk Mandibuzz Foul Play vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Mega Alakazam: 116-140 (46 - 55.5%) -- 71.5% chance to 2HKO
This guy should be B or B+ if anything imo.

(Sorry i don't have that many replays, but i think what i provided is enough to get the point across)

y'all nigs really gotta use mega zam before you suggest droppin it :I Pair it with a pursuit bisharp and results are guaranteed

EDIT: People seem to be comparing this thing with deo-s LOL
Deo-s doesn't outspeed kingdra or excadrill in the rain, and deo-s doesn't threaten stall like it did in the replay above. Psycho Boost is simply too inconsistent, and requires a TON of switching and shitting around. Also, Shadow Ball is a much more reliable option to hit aegis than knock off is. And the difference in power haha (using based shuckle as an example)

252+ SpA Mega Alakazam Psychic vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Shuckle: 78-93 (31.9 - 38.1%) -- 0.7% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
2252 SpA Life Orb Deoxys-S Psycho Boost vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Shuckle: 94-110 (38.5 - 45%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery

I realize that psycho boost has more power (and FAR more inconsistency, which can leave you as set up bait for just about anything on offense, which is not worth the power imo), but deo-s lacks the utility in conjunction with the neutral coverage that mega zam brings, and loses 1v1 in a ton of situational scenarios where mega zam would not.

 

[I AM THE JAMAICAN BOBSLED TEAM]

2252 SpA Life Orb Deoxys-S Psycho Boost vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Shuckle: 94-110 (38.5 - 45%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery

that shit oughta be able to blow up the world, shuckle is a fucking tank

 

[Ruffles]

Hold the phone
Mega Alakazam moving DOWN????

Goddam it hurts me how hard this guy is underrated. It really does just make me shake my head.
Look, if you want the short argument, 150 speed and 175 base sp. att, no matter what the other stats are, is not something that belongs in C.
But if you want an actual argument.... bleah

1. Ridiculous Special attack and Speed.
Yeah, yada yada yada it has fantastic stats and it outspeeds basically everything unboosted and non-scarfed up until mega manectric, which you can choose to outspeed by going timid. Of course, i wouldn't recommend this as you're only losing to one pokemon with modest and the power that it brings otherwise is invaluable, so go modest. With modest, unevolved you can outspeed up to garchomp but no more, so watch out for that.
This guy also has some pretty great neutral coverage, and you can even go hp fire over shadow ball if ferro and scizor are problems and psychics aren't. I personally like to taunt and shadow ball that fucking blob named mew, but hey, your choice, they're both pretty viable. Taunt is more or less standard because it lets you screw stall and baton pass.
Oh.
YOu don't believe me when you say it screws up stall do you?
Well let's look at a typical stall team, TFL's stall for example, teh fgts that never die.
Mega Venu: Psychic
Krook: Focus Blast
Skarm: Shadow Ball/Hp fire, even psychic 2hko's lol
252+ SpA Mega Alakazam Focus Blast vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Skarmory: 241-284 (72.1 - 85%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
Quag: LOL
Gengar: See quagsire
Chansey: The only real stop to this monster.

So, in essence, once you use some pursuit support to weaken chansey just down to a mere 60%, focus blast will 2hko. So let's use bisharp as a partner:
252+ SpA Mega Alakazam Focus Blast vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Eviolite Chansey: 230-272 (32.6 - 38.6%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Stealth Rock
252+ Atk Black Glasses Bisharp Crunch vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Eviolite Chansey: 222-262 (31.5 - 37.2%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Stealth Rock
(Crunch is pursuit on the switch)
So, basically, Mega zam is a wallbreaker. A wallbreaker with 150 base speed. Not even bad.
Here's a replay of this baby in action: http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/oususpecttest-126383961

2. Fk's up baton pass
Trace speed boost from scolipede, psychic OHKO, psychic 2hko everything else you can't taunt. Taunt smeargle, screw spore, yada yada yada just watch this shit:
http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/oususpecttest-126112277
It's ez. Mega Zam basically wrecks that shit better than any other mon out there. It's just beautiful man. Beautiful.
(I liek to use terrak with this thing b/c it switches in freely on the defensive dark pokemon that zam can't beat, like mandibuzz and umbreon. Free justified boost.)
Yeah also because baton pass is still a thing, stick with psychic for now so you can kill scolipede even after an iron defense. Go psyshock to hit chansey MUCH harder when baton pass gets nerfed or what not.

3. Taunt+Trace
The amount of utility this man offers with taunt and trace is simply gorgeous. That Specs Kingdra or LO Exca sweeping your ass? Trace swift swim/sand rush, psychic/focus blast, and be happy :]
Come in on greninja/Lando-i for protean/sheer force destruction.
That Lando-T just rock polish'd? Come in and out to spam intimidate
Come in on basically every heatran for free thanks to flash fire, and you can taunt to prevent toxic, roar, or rocks
Tracing Levitate from Lati@s in general is pretty cool too
I traced multiscale from a dnite once, saved my ass bigtime XD
Tracing Thick Fat from mamoswine helps take the ice shard and kill it back as well
Trace Serene Grace from the occasional Togekiss and sp. def drops galore.
Taunt Helps beat basically every lead except deo-s out there, especially deo-d.
But one great Gem everybody always forgets is Thundurus: You can trace prankster and taunt it before it can t-wave you XD
That is just great

With all the utility, power, and speed that this guy brings, all you really have to watch out for is some priority, bisharp, and aegislash, neither of which can switch in regardless. Because your attack is so low, even a foul play from mandibuzz doesn't come close to OHKO:
4 Atk Mandibuzz Foul Play vs. 4 HP / 0 Def Mega Alakazam: 116-140 (46 - 55.5%) -- 71.5% chance to 2HKO
This guy should be B or B+ if anything imo.

(Sorry i don't have that many replays, but i think what i provided is enough to get the point across)

y'all nigs really gotta use mega zam before you suggest droppin it :I Pair it with a pursuit bisharp and results are guaranteed

EDIT: People seem to be comparing this thing with deo-s LOL
Deo-s doesn't outspeed kingdra or excadrill in the rain, and deo-s doesn't threaten stall like it did in the replay above. Psycho Boost is simply too inconsistent, and requires a TON of switching and shitting around. Also, Shadow Ball is a much more reliable option to hit aegis than knock off is. And the difference in power haha (using based shuckle as an example)

252+ SpA Mega Alakazam Psychic vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Shuckle: 78-93 (31.9 - 38.1%) -- 0.7% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
2252 SpA Life Orb Deoxys-S Psycho Boost vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Shuckle: 94-110 (38.5 - 45%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery

I realize that psycho boost has more power (and FAR more inconsistency, which can leave you as set up bait for just about anything on offense, which is not worth the power imo), but deo-s lacks the utility in conjunction with the neutral coverage that mega zam brings, and loses 1v1 in a ton of situational scenarios where mega zam would not.

Not to mention Mega Zam can also bring support with Encore making the pokemons set up bait / forced to switch.
Substitute blocks Sucker Punch and Calm Mind set breaks stall like there's no tomorrow. Without CM you fuck stall sans Chansey but w/ CM you can break it down easier, however without taunt you want be as much of a stallbreaker but still can really do a lot.

SubDisable Mega is a thing too, it does it far better than Gengar due to speed while still being able to do a lot to stall with Psychic + Focus Blast combo.

 

[theV8man]

For me chansey is S and disapoint with charizard mega Y ranking

Chansey is a brick but the amount of Knock Off's being thrown around these days is ridiculous. I've been Knock Off'd by freackin' Venusaur! It's also complete and utter set-up bait for a lot of physical attackers, and things that it's supposed to wall mess it with Taunt or Trick. In other words, most teams carry an answer to Chansey without trying to, and it doesn't strike out as a threat that everyone prepares for, and thus it can't really be S. Charizard Y is in the conclusion reached category as it's ranking has been discussed to death.

 

[kabbes]

I don't understand why people are personally disappointed because their preferred pokemon are more lowly ranked than they think is deserved. Personally, I love it because it means other teams will be unprepared for me.

 

[weird mon]

I don't understand why people are personally disappointed because their preferred pokemon are more lowly ranked than they think is deserved. Personally, I love it because it means other teams will be unprepared for me.

If you had used that pokemon you would have known how much pokemon is useful

 

[LZH14]

although chansey bulky as hell there are too many jackass bisharps and lando-i and other random shit running around with knock off. also good amount of keldeo w/ secret sword and terrakion. sure it walls all the special stuff but there's just so much annoying physical death running around. also lots of taunt with deoxys forms, thundurus, etc.

zard y has been discussed so much there's probably something on it within the past 114 pages T_T
but yeah, conclusion reached category, cant discuss

 

[Crosby87]

Could Murkrow have a niche in OU for countering BP teams? Prankster Haze and Perish Song looks good to me.

HP and def investment with eviolite also allows it to take out a lot of physical attackers and walls. Mean look, perish song, roost, and switch out on last turn

Total taunt bait, but that's why you shouldn't switch in on a taunt user

 

[Valmanway]

Could Murkrow have a niche in OU for countering BP teams? Prankster Haze and Perish Song looks good to me.

HP and def investment with eviolite also allows it to take out a lot of physical attackers and walls. Mean look, perish song, roost, and switch out on last turn

Total taunt bait, but that's why you shouldn't switch in on a taunt user

Murkrow vs. BP? That could work. Murkrow vs. anything else? Ehhh....

 

[Karxrida]

Could Murkrow have a niche in OU for countering BP teams? Prankster Haze and Perish Song looks good to me.

HP and def investment with eviolite also allows it to take out a lot of physical attackers and walls. Mean look, perish song, roost, and switch out on last turn

Total taunt bait, but that's why you shouldn't switch in on a taunt user

I'm pretty sure I don't have to calc how much Sylveon's Hyper Voice will do to a Murkrow.

It's not viable and an extremely shitty gimmick.

 

[Crosby87]

I'm pretty sure I don't have to calc how much Sylveon's Hyper Voice will do to a Murkrow.

It's not viable and an extremely shitty gimmick.

Why would you switch it in on a Sylveon? *facepalm* like I said, in addition to countering BP teams, it can take out walls/stall and a lot of physical attackers as long as they don't have a SE attack so it's not completely useless like you're implying. Certainly better than a lot of the D rank Pokemon I'm seeing on this list which are outclassed in their roles

Murkrow offers a nice niche in OU.

 

[Karxrida]

Why would you switch it in on a Sylveon? *facepalm* like I said, in addition to countering BP teams, it can take out walls/stall and a lot of physical attackers as long as they don't have a SE attack so it's not completely useless like you're implying. Certainly better than a lot of the D rank Pokemon I'm seeing on this list which are outclassed in their roles

Murkrow offers a nice niche in OU.

You don't; Sylveon switches into YOU and fucks up your "counter".

 

[Sergeant Spooky]

Shedinja utterly walls an entire Baton Pass team, as their only attacks are Psychic and Fairy (and possibly Water and Electric) and they don't use Hazards.

This does not mean Shedinja is good. Same with Murkrow, who does even more poorly against BP teams since they all have Sylveon.

There are many things that are good against Baton Pass team without being awful at everything else. Most are outlined in dEnIsSsS' RMT, which is here. Pretty much everything there is way more viable in OU than Murkrow, Shedinja, Imprison Musharna, or any of the dozens of other dumb shit people think can beat BP teams.