Metagame Metagame Discussion Thread

[VannAccessible]

Can I add an interesting opinion around?
I find Trick Room quite entertaining and useful... I know it is sounding gimmicky, but Hyper Offense is always thrown off-guard especially at the moment that it was found out that it was actually Trick Room...
It is simply because this Pokemon is something you would not expect to have holding a Trick Room...

Magearna @ Leftovers
Ability: Soul-Heart
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Volt Switch
- Trick Room
- Fleur Cannon
- Focus Blast

It is a simple, generic offensive Trick Room Set with no set up... with access to Volt Switch, it can easily go out and allow a fellow teammate to start a sweep. A-Marowak benefits heavily from this, As Rock Head plus Thick Club enables it to hit so many Pokemon hard...
I'm currently running a Trick-Room set in the lower ladder and I caught a lot of players off-guard, especially since I paired Magearna up with Porygon 2 (My Defensive Trick Room Setter) and Victini (My Wall Breaker Trick Room Setter). I actually found Lurantis a good, yet 1-dimensional Pokemon in my team, forming a niche as my Trick Room Offensive Support/Special Wallbreaker thanks to Contrary, as it gets access to Aromatherapy and Defog. I simply had HP Fire to deal with Steel Types. Since many Alolan Pokemon are slow, this might give a new lease of life to them...
If only Tapu Lele had rest, I could've had the perfect Trick Room Team.

I've been using this set to great effect, although I've been using Aura Sphere. Trick room teams got a huge buff this gen, and Magenera is at the center of it. It is the ultimate offensive Trick Room setter.

I'm working on a write up post for TR teams. I'll try and have it up later today.

Exit: I just accidentally deleted my write up on Trick Room on my iPhone. Sigh. :(

 

[Hitzel]

Has anyone ever done a study to see if these sprite changes actually change use rates? Not a joke - Bungie said that use rates of weapons changed in Halo when they changed sound effects.

 

[oreofestar]

real talk I'll miss the 2D sprites, I actually preferred them...but I cant imagine it would have a dramatic effect on usage rates

 

[BeardyBennett]

Can I add an interesting opinion around?
I find Trick Room quite entertaining and useful... I know it is sounding gimmicky, but Hyper Offense is always thrown off-guard especially at the moment that it was found out that it was actually Trick Room...
It is simply because this Pokemon is something you would not expect to have holding a Trick Room...

Magearna @ Leftovers
Ability: Soul-Heart
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 SpD
Quiet Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 Spe
- Volt Switch
- Trick Room
- Fleur Cannon
- Focus Blast

It is a simple, generic offensive Trick Room Set with no set up... with access to Volt Switch, it can easily go out and allow a fellow teammate to start a sweep. A-Marowak benefits heavily from this, As Rock Head plus Thick Club enables it to hit so many Pokemon hard...
I'm currently running a Trick-Room set in the lower ladder and I caught a lot of players off-guard, especially since I paired Magearna up with Porygon 2 (My Defensive Trick Room Setter) and Victini (My Wall Breaker Trick Room Setter). I actually found Lurantis a good, yet 1-dimensional Pokemon in my team, forming a niche as my Trick Room Offensive Support/Special Wallbreaker thanks to Contrary, as it gets access to Aromatherapy and Defog. I simply had HP Fire to deal with Steel Types. Since many Alolan Pokemon are slow, this might give a new lease of life to them...
If only Tapu Lele had rest, I could've had the perfect Trick Room Team.

I've been using this set to great effect, although I've been using Aura Sphere. Trick room teams got a huge buff this gen, and Magenera is at the center of it. It is the ultimate offensive Trick Room setter.

I'm working on a write up post for TR teams. I'll try and have it up later today.

Trick Room is extremely viable at the moment, as it acts as yet another way to counteract Pheromosa, Lando-I, Greninja, Scarf Xurkitree, Tapu Koko, etc. And like you all have said, there's some great mons out there right now for it. Magearna, Guzzlord, Dhelmise, Mimikyu, slower Buzzwoles, etc. This is a generation that lends itself very well to Trick Room. I have never actually used Trick Room much myself in the past, but this is a generation where I might try putting together a couple of Trick Room teams. There are so many mons I want to try out, but my usual speedy playstyle just doesn't really mesh well with those mons.

 

[Chaoswalker]

Has anyone ever done a study to see if these sprite changes actually change use rates? Not a joke - Bungie said that use rates of weapons changed in Halo when they changed sound effects.

Perceived power is absolutely a factor. People will like or dislike something simply for how it "feels", all of which is a combination of gameplay, visuals, and audio feedback. A system designers for an FPS was being told their shotgun was too weak compared to other guns, despite his numbers clearly showing it was balanced. Before tweaking any of the statistics, he asked for a change to the sound effect of the shoutgun to make it sound heavier. Suddenly, people were giving positive feedback on the shotgun, as it FELT like the weapon was doing the damage they believed it should be.

Now, pokemon IS slightly different in that we can see the numbers changing on the screen when attacks are delivered, but not all factors are visible. We often fool ourselves into believing that a weaker mon's stats or movepool are just as usable as any proven tier threat. I haven't started playing SUMO OU yet, but I have a feeling that Mimikyu is not quite up to par with the rest of the tier, but is still getting a decent amount of play due to its sheer popularity and its ability to turn out entertaining victories.

 

[skybattler262]

Perceived power is absolutely a factor. People will like or dislike something simply for how it "feels", all of which is a combination of gameplay, visuals, and audio feedback. A system designers for an FPS was being told their shotgun was too weak compared to other guns, despite his numbers clearly showing it was balanced. Before tweaking any of the statistics, he asked for a change to the sound effect of the shoutgun to make it sound heavier. Suddenly, people were giving positive feedback on the shotgun, as it FELT like the weapon was doing the damage they believed it should be.

Now, pokemon IS slightly different in that we can see the numbers changing on the screen when attacks are delivered, but not all factors are visible. We often fool ourselves into believing that a weaker mon's stats or movepool are just as usable as any proven tier threat. I haven't started playing SUMO OU yet, but I have a feeling that Mimikyu is not quite up to par with the rest of the tier, but is still getting a decent amount of play due to its sheer popularity and its ability to turn out entertaining victories.

I would actually digress... Mimikyu is a fairly good Pokemon because of Disguise, as it can survive any hit barring status to easily set out Swords Dance or Bulk Up.
It also has access to Shadow Sneak and Play Rough, and several disrupting status moves like Thunder Wave, Will-o-wisp and Thunder Wave, which can also make it a decent mon together with its ability

 

[Miyami~~]

I would actually digress... Mimikyu is a fairly good Pokemon because of Disguise, as it can survive any hit barring status to easily set out Swords Dance or Bulk Up.
It also has access to Shadow Sneak and Play Rough, and several disrupting status moves like Thunder Wave, Will-o-wisp and Thunder Wave, which can also make it a decent mon together with its ability

I know it was the best move in the game last gen but did it really need to be mentioned twice?

 

[Siggu]

I don't think it's perceived power, but rather a delightful surprise as it can have some kind of use. It's not screaming "OH MY MEGA RAYQUAZA MIMIKYU IS GONNA BE A TOP OU THREAT EVEN THOUGH IT'S SO GIMMICKY" but more like "OMG it has a niche".

Mimikyu has that unique trait of "lol getting to +4 has never been easier" and actually having room for a Z-Crystal unlike most bigger threats.

I do agree in one thing, however - it will eventually wear down and it will become a rare Pokemon.

Think of, say, Reuniclus and Conkeldurr in early BW1. Those things were everywhere (and Reuniclus was suspected because it demolished obsolete stall styles, but then stall adapted to add ways to break down Pokemon that could not be passively worn down), and then they became uncommon.

 

[skybattler262]

I know it was the best move in the game last gen but did it really need to be mentioned twice?

Sorry, I'm supposed to add Pain Split... looks like I've overlooked that while typing it...

 

[alexwolf]

A cool Pheromosa check and good Pokemon in general, especially with Aegislash banned, is Buzzwhole. With 152 HP / max Atk+ / 104 SpD and Lefties you always avoid the 2HKO from any move LO physically based Pheromosa usually packs, even after SR, and you always OHKO back after SR and one round of LO recoil with Superpower. Buzzwhole also has Roost, allowing it to check Pheromosa multiple times. Between Superpower, Leech Life, ThunderPunch, and Ice Punch, you have great coverage (you can't pick all four if you want Roost, but that's why you have a team). ThunderPunch even has a ~50% chance to 2HKO max HP Toxapex after SR and Lefties, so it's really not that easy to wall Buzzwhole, even without a boosting item. Of course some physical walls such as Skarmory and Hippowdon wall you easily, but Buzzwhole's role is not that of a wallbreaker, but that of a tank with good power, coverage, and longevity.

 

[BeardyBennett]

Okay so one thing I want to discuss, or I guess ask about, is the role of hazards in this meta. Obviously hazards are super important, after all it's not like they were nerfed or anything. However, and maybe this is just because I'm low-ladder, but it seems like hazard-setting isn't so much of a priority in the early meta. I mean, I don't tend to use hazards much myself, but it seems like a lot of people aren't going with hazards either.

Instead, it seems there's a much greater focus on fireing off big hits, setting up, or putting a status on people. Even most leads I have seen have been some sort of a VoltTurner or maybe something like a TR-setter or just something to fire off a hit. In fact, about the only hazards I'm seeing thrown around are the obvious Toxapex T-Spikes and various forms of Webs because people seem to be in love with Webs teams this time around. This is very odd to me seeing as how ORAS seemed to be very hazards driven, with Spikes seeming to become very popular at the end of the meta. Now I hardly ever see Spikes unless it's from a Ferro.

Any ideas as to why this might be? I'd guess it to be because people are wanting to mess around with the powerhouse Pokes like Phero, Xurk, the Tapus, Greninja, and Lando-I, and thus aren't as focused on getting up hazards as they are just using the raw power of those mons (or setting-up). So then, I would also guess that as more bans happen and things settle that hazards will see an uptick back to where they were during ORAS. Or maybe this isn't even a trend and I'm reading too much into things.

 

[New World Order]

Okay so one thing I want to discuss, or I guess ask about, is the role of hazards in this meta. Obviously hazards are super important, after all it's not like they were nerfed or anything. However, and maybe this is just because I'm low-ladder, but it seems like hazard-setting isn't so much of a priority in the early meta. I mean, I don't tend to use hazards much myself, but it seems like a lot of people aren't going with hazards either.

Instead, it seems there's a much greater focus on fireing off big hits, setting up, or putting a status on people. Even most leads I have seen have been some sort of a VoltTurner or maybe something like a TR-setter or just something to fire off a hit. In fact, about the only hazards I'm seeing thrown around are the obvious Toxapex T-Spikes and various forms of Webs because people seem to be in love with Webs teams this time around. This is very odd to me seeing as how ORAS seemed to be very hazards driven, with Spikes seeming to become very popular at the end of the meta. Now I hardly ever see Spikes unless it's from a Ferro.

Any ideas as to why this might be? I'd guess it to be because people are wanting to mess around with the powerhouse Pokes like Phero, Xurk, the Tapus, Greninja, and Lando-I, and thus aren't as focused on getting up hazards as they are just using the raw power of those mons (or setting-up). So then, I would also guess that as more bans happen and things settle that hazards will see an uptick back to where they were during ORAS. Or maybe this isn't even a trend and I'm reading too much into things.

Huh? What meta are you playing? I don't think I've seen a single serious team that doesn't pack Stealth Rock. I will agree that setting up hazards is a lot more difficult than before with so much offensive pressure to contend with, but it's huge for preventing volt-turners from just having their way, wearing down pivots like Alolan-Marowak and Landorus-T, and putting walls like Toxapex and Mantine into KO range. It's possible to win games without getting up hazards off the sheer power level of threats like Pheromosa, Greninja, Genesect etc, but make no mistake you're at a disadvantage in most matchups if your team doesn't pack SR.

 

[BeardyBennett]

Huh? What meta are you playing? I don't think I've seen a single serious team that doesn't pack Stealth Rock. I will agree that setting up hazards is a lot more difficult than before with so much offensive pressure to contend with, but it's huge for preventing volt-turners from just having their way, wearing down pivots like Alolan-Marowak and Landorus-T, and putting walls like Toxapex and Mantine into KO range. It's possible to win games without getting up hazards off the sheer power level of threats like Pheromosa, Greninja, Genesect etc, but make no mistake you're at a disadvantage in most matchups if your team doesn't pack SR.

Oh I'm not questioning the importance of SR, I absolutely understand the value of them. That's why I usually try to at least have removal options on my team. What I'm saying is that it's weird that I'm not seeing them much from other people. From the sounds of it, you're seeing it a lot in higher-ladder matches. Again, this could just be because I'm low-ladder, but that's still odd to me because ORAS low-ladder still had some form of hazards being put up in just about every game.

 

[oreofestar]

Popular pokemon can potentially get more usage than they should based on their effectiveness but I don't think it's drastic. ..I was just talking about something like this in the Decidueye post

 

[Helldoom]

I've been using physical Tapu Koko with Electrium Z and it's pretty amazing. It's a great lure for Chansey and Mega-Venu.

Tapu Koko @ Electrium Z
Ability: Electric Surge
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Wild Charge
- Brave Bird
- U-turn
- Roost

Calcs

- 252 Atk Tapu Koko Gigavolt Havoc vs. 4 HP / 252+ Def Eviolite Chansey in Electric Terrain: 520-613 (80.9 - 95.4%) -- 56.3% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
- 252 Atk Tapu Koko Brave Bird vs. 248 HP / 96+ Def Venusaur-Mega: 170-200 (46.8 - 55%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock
- 252 Atk Tapu Koko Gigavolt Havoc vs. 248 HP / 16+ Def Scizor-Mega in Electric Terrain: 264-312 (76.9 - 90.9%) -- 25% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
- 252 Atk Tapu Koko Gigavolt Havoc vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Heatran in Electric Terrain: 375-442 (97.1 - 114.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock

 

[BeardyBennett]

I've been using physical Tapu Koko with Electrium Z and it's pretty amazing. It's a great lure for Chansey and Mega-Venu.

Tapu Koko @ Electrium Z
Ability: Electric Surge
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Wild Charge
- Brave Bird
- U-turn
- Roost

Calcs

- 252 Atk Tapu Koko Gigavolt Havoc vs. 4 HP / 252+ Def Eviolite Chansey in Electric Terrain: 520-613 (80.9 - 95.4%) -- 56.3% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
- 252 Atk Tapu Koko Brave Bird vs. 248 HP / 96+ Def Venusaur-Mega: 170-200 (46.8 - 55%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock
- 252 Atk Tapu Koko Gigavolt Havoc vs. 248 HP / 16+ Def Scizor-Mega in Electric Terrain: 264-312 (76.9 - 90.9%) -- 25% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
- 252 Atk Tapu Koko Gigavolt Havoc vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Heatran in Electric Terrain: 375-442 (97.1 - 114.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock

This may be a dumb question, but do you still take Wild Charge recoil after the Z-Wild Charge? That being said, I can definitely get behind this set. Tapu Koko getting Brave Bird, Roost, and U-Turn is awesome.

 

[pika pal]

Has anyone ever done a study to see if these sprite changes actually change use rates? Not a joke - Bungie said that use rates of weapons changed in Halo when they changed sound effects.

I can definitely say that it was something that influenced my perceptions at times when I was new to the Competitive scene. I had the hardest time wrapping my head around how hard something like Keldeo could hit in or out of Rain just because of how scrawny its design over all looked, and designs like Skarmory looked more fast than they did bulky. On the opposite end, something like Chansey looks very round and balloon like, which definitely gave me the impression to hit it physically and expecting it to give... only to be immediately betrayed if I did have a Wallbreaker for the Eviolite.

I don't think it's the most easily observed phenomena, since a lot of "new" players either come in with a rudimentary knowledge of numbers (and thus try to build around established roles more than design conception) or are people who want to try and be competitive with mons they already like.

I agree with the Aegislash ban since it's the most extreme case of arresting development in the meta, but at what point does a mon swap from "checking a top tier threat" to "Mon A is broken but checked by viable Mon B"? It's hard to describe since I can't think of any concrete example that has ever persisted very long outside an obviously extreme case (such as the mentioned Aegislash checking Pheromosa), but I guess the question would be how you weigh the brokenness of one mon if another otherwise healthy and prevalent Pokemon can check it fairly well. With a slew of new mons and changes to old ones such as Mantine, I'd expect this might come up occasionally in discussing the developing meta.

I want to stress this is not an accusation, I just want to see personal stances on the idea, maybe start some discussion if people have takes on top tier threats (not things they necessarily expect to be suspected), if anything has gotten more acceptable with things that have been introduced, maybe spark more discussion on how to use a "Mon B" to fill a role while checking high tier threats in the interest of seeing the results of experimentation or tweaks to existing current uses.

 

[Helldoom]

This may be a dumb question, but do you still take Wild Charge recoil after the Z-Wild Charge? That being said, I can definitely get behind this set. Tapu Koko getting Brave Bird, Roost, and U-Turn is awesome.

No recoil after using Gigavolt Havoc. If you want to use your electric stab again you obviously take recoil but that's when roost comes into play.

 

[Sergeant Spooky]

This may be a dumb question, but do you still take Wild Charge recoil after the Z-Wild Charge? That being said, I can definitely get behind this set. Tapu Koko getting Brave Bird, Roost, and U-Turn is awesome.

No recoil after using Gigavolt Havoc. If you want to use your electric stab again you obviously take recoil but that's when roost comes into play.

No recoil or any secondary effects.

Z-moves completely replace the base move's properties (except status moves, which simply add an effect.) So no recoil, priority, charging, recharging, secondary effects like burn or SpA drops, etc. Z-moves are purely just very strong moves, with no additional properties (edit: except in the case of signature Z-moves such as Mew's, which sets Psychic Terrain on top of being 185 BP.)

 

[Albacore]

One Pokemon I think has kinda slipped under the radar is Zygarde. Ever since the Power Construct ban, I've barely seen it at all, which is a shame because both formes are really good in their own ways.

10% is pretty one-dimensional and can barely switch into anything, but a lot of offensively-inclined teams just cannot handle it at all becuase of its speed tier combined with 1K arrows hitting everything that isn't a Grass or Bug type neutrally. Right now, it's having a hard time truly shining becuase the amount of ridiculously fast stuff in the tier makes 115 seem almost sluggish by comparaison (it does get ESpeed but doesn't really like getting locked into it that much). Tapu Bulu is also a massive, massive pain for it since it needs to play around it a lot, and even if it correctly predicts the switch-in, you still have to overcome Iron tail's horrid accuracy. But the many teams that rely on stuff like Celesteela, Rotom-W and RH Lando-T (which still takes 1K arrows well, but is usually oulasted by Zygarde since it can't inflict RH recoil) to take Ground moves have massive trouble vs this thing.

But as much as I love 10%, I think 50% is probably the bigger threat here. DD sets up very easily thanks to the bulk and hits the vast majority of the tier with a single move, making it a superb lategame sweeper, and a decent offensive glue for teams weak to stuff like Sand Rush Excadrill and Marowak.
The first set I used on it was DD / 1K Arrows / ESpeed / Outrage with a Lum Berry, but I wasn't quite satisfied with its damage output. Plus, I've actually found Outrage to be entirely pointless on the DD set since the only thing it really hits is Buzzwole, and I guess Pinsir, though you're better off running Rock coverage if you really want to hit Pinsir. Iron Tail is basically better since it hits Tapu Bulu which is, one again, a hard stop. But I usually find Sub to be the best choice, since Zygarde's bulk enables its sub to live some weaker hits (for instance, Amoonguss can't break it without Foul Play), and it lets you set up on status users without needing Lum, which lets you run another item.
Leftovers seems like the obvious choice for Sub sets, but i've actually been very pleased with Groundium-Z, which really increases Zygarde's power by giving it the ability to break past stuff like Tapu Fini and Clefable much more easily, and once that's gone, to just clean the rest of the team. It also weakens opposing Knock Offs which is nice. Sub+Groundium-Z gives you a pretty good middle ground bewteen Lum's Status resistance and Life Orb's breaking capabilitues. Unfortunately, Tectonic Rage from 1K Arrows doesn't hit flyers, so Earth Plate might be a pretty solid option too, for that reason.
Life Orb obviously doesn't mesh well with Substitute, so you'r better off running coverage. And although it might seem crazy, Sludge Wave, even with a -SpA nature, sounds like a viable option on it: it barely OHKOes 0/0 Tapu Bulu from full (and unlike Iron Tail, can't miss), and it 2HKOes Rocky Helmet Tangrowth. Of course, it doesn't deal much to Pinsir, and can't break Buzzzwole (nothing short of HP Flying can) so it's probably just a gimmick. Still, it's something to keep in mind.

All of this isn't even going into the SubCoil set, which seems like another very good bulky wincon even without Power Construct. I've actually been playing around with a Vincune-inspired Sub Protect Coil set with max Speed and it is very fun; it's not as good as Vincune since it's quite vulnerable on the special side and has more common and exploitable weaknesses, but it can still be extremely annoying to handle. You do probably want enough speed for Tapu Bulu though: as nice as Espeed is, Coil increasing the accuracy of Iron Tail so that you can reliably hit Bulu sounds really appealing to me.

So yeah, Zygarde is one hell of a threat, and more people should be using it.

 

[TURBODERP]

SubCoil Zygarde (and 50% Zygarde in general) also has the ability to just muscle past and/or ignore Celesteela, which is pretty darn common on the ladder and tends to wall most physical attackers through Leftovers+Leech Seed+Protect (and sometimes Toxic too). You resist or take little from its most common moves (Heavy Slam, Flamethrower, EQ, Flash Cannon) and when behind a Sub you don't care about Leech Seed shenanigans. You can phase it out if needed too.

 

[da gold sun]

Another threat people have mentioned loosely but haven't talked too much about is Landorus-I. The amount of switch-ins this thing has remains minuscule, even with the new defensive threats.

252 SpA Life Orb Sheer Force Landorus Earth Power vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Toxapex: 257-304 (84.5 - 100%) -- 75% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
252 SpA Life Orb Sheer Force Landorus Focus Blast vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Celesteela: 146-172 (36.6 - 43.2%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Stealth Rock - but who runs full SDef anyway?
252 SpA Life Orb Sheer Force Landorus Focus Blast vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Guzzlord: 426-502 (65.5 - 77.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO (lol)
4 Atk Life Orb Sheer Force Landorus Rock Slide vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Araquanid: 239-283 (70.2 - 83.2%) -- 68.8% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
252 SpA Life Orb Sheer Force Landorus Earth Power vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Marowak-Alola: 377-447 (116.3 - 137.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO - do we even need to calc it
252 SpA Life Orb Sheer Force Landorus Sludge Wave vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Tapu Fini: 192-229 (55.8 - 66.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock - she takes this better than I expected tbh

252 SpA Life Orb Sheer Force Landorus Psychic vs. 252 HP / 252 SpD Buzzwole: 351-413 (83.9 - 98.8%) -- 75% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
252 SpA Life Orb Sheer Force Landorus Sludge Wave vs. 252 HP / 252 SpD Buzzwole: 186-220 (44.4 - 52.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock

And most of these sets are assuming the worst-case scenario for Landorus. Most people won't run, say, full SDef Buzzwole. The issue is, of course, Landorus's 4MSS, but honestly, much like Greninja, he can run whatever coverage you team needs. As a player figures out what sets Landorus runs, they are likely taking huge risks, if not huge losses, in the process. Unless you're running a blob, this thing runs you over, just like the last two generations.

As cool as it would be to experiment with a Z-move set for Landorus, Life Orb is by far the best choice and pretty much always will be. It's debatable, really, but I consider Landorus more of a threat than Pheromosa right now. Pheramosa wears down teams over time and cleans up, where Landorus slams you right off the bat. Pheramosa seems to have more defined counters/switch-ins to it, too. Hope you're packing some Ice Shards, and Arceus forbid the enemy uses Landorus-I AND Tapu Lele/Psychic Terrain.

 

[13_luckynumber]

Another threat people have mentioned loosely but haven't talked too much about is Landorus-I. The amount of switch-ins this thing has remains minuscule, even with the new defensive threats.

252 SpA Life Orb Sheer Force Landorus Focus Blast vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Celesteela: 146-172 (36.6 - 43.2%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Stealth Rock - but who runs full SDef anyway?

Actually, Celesteela needs only 252 HP / 160+ SpD and Leftovers to be a full counter to Lando-I.

252 SpA Life Orb Sheer Force Landorus Focus Blast vs. 252 HP / 160+ SpD Celesteela: 157-186 (39.4 - 46.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery

The free EV gives you room to run even Shed Shell. In that case, the spread is 252 HP/ 236+ SpD

252 SpA Life Orb Sheer Force Landorus Focus Blast vs. 252 HP / 236+ SpD Celesteela: 147-174 (36.9 - 43.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Stealth Rock

Factoring in recovery from Leech Seed, Protect Leftovers and Focus Blast accuracy, Celesteela is a very reliable answer to Lando-I

 

[Marzbar]

I'm having a lot of success with a defensive Effect Spore Vileplume set, as nobody knows how to deal with it, effect spore ruins lives, Moonblast nets surprise KO's, and it's a solid check to just about every physical threat at the moment apart from Fire types. A lot of things hate this mon: Buzzwole, Tapu Bulu, Tapu Fini, Kartana, Bewear, Golem-A, Kommo-O, Garchomp, Azumarill, Araquanid, Greninja, Mudsdale, Lycanroc, Palossand, Pelipper, Scizor, Poliwrath, Hippowdon, Tapu Koko, Dugtrio.... even Pheromosa and Genesect don't like it if they spam U-Turn into it.

Vileplume
Effect Spore
Black Sludge
Bold 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpA
- Giga Drain
- Sludge Bomb
- Moonblast
- Sleep Powder / Aromatherapy / Worry Seed / Moonlight

It's pretty fun and effective, not amazing but definitely a niche.
Other thoughts:
I LOVE Kartana. When this thing gets going you can almost see your opponent shitting themselves.

Also, Persian-A with Fur Coat, Darkinium Z, Foul Play, Taunt and Parting Shot is REALLY good. It can survive just about any attack, grab revenge KO's with Foul Play, and bring back something to full health with Z-Parting Shot as well as weaken a threat at the same time. 4th slot I'm still playing with Fake Out / Hypnosis / Toxic.

 

[BeardyBennett]

Since someone brought up Starmie, who dropped to UU last time Aegislash was legal in OU, let me bring up someone else that shared the same fate then bounced back:

Jirachi @ Normalium Z
Ability: Serene Grace
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 20 HP / 252 Atk / 236 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Happy Hour
- Iron Head
- Zen Headbutt/Fire Punch
- Ice Punch/Fire Punch

People hyped up Happy Hour Jirachi and then it completely failed to materialize, probably due in part to Aegislash, as it eats Fire Punch and threatens Jirachi out with Shadow Ball + Sneak. Perhaps this set now has time to shine! For those unaware, Z-Happy Hour acts like Z-Conversion in that it boosts all stats by +1. Neutral 236 Speed outpaces all non-Scarf Pheromosa at +1, but you can go Jolly + max if you want to outspeed everything that Scarf Jirachi typically does. You could also invest more in bulk to setup easier, but I'm completely unsure what benchmarks to hit at this time. Moveset is flexible other than Iron Head. Zen Headbutt is particularly nice if paired with Tapu Lele due to the damage boost and priority blocking. Ice Punch hits Lando/Chomp while Fire Punch hits Scizor/Ferro/Kartana/Celesteela/Skarmory/etc. You can also experiment with Jirachi's wide special movepool with moves like Psychic, Thunderbolt, Icy Wind and even Doom Desire. Mainly, though, the point of this set is to rely on fewer flinches to beat down foes, as +1 Adamant attacks hit the same as a Jolly Band Pokemon with base 115. However, flinches are now easier than ever to get, as you outspeed everything slower than Ninjask if they lack Scarf/boosts. You can also tank quite a few hits at +1/+1 due to your natural bulk, easily living EQ from defensive Garchomp/Landorus and maybe even 3 Lava Plumes from defensive Heatran if you're lucky.

Like Porygon-Z, Jirachi can initiate a GeoXern-esque late game sweep, trading a bit of power for a lot of bulk and utility. Due to Jirachi's flexibility, I expect many variations of this set to crop up in OU.

EDIT: Mildly Greninja'd by bludz

I have been trying out this set and am having a blast with it. Definitely doesn't seem like something most people are expecting at all, granted I didn't even know about it until reading your post. Needless to say, after a few battles there are more people now aware of this monster. Haven't gotten a full-on sweep yet because of some random Scarfer that I hadn't been able to scout for previously like in the replay below (and a lack of a clutch flinch lol). Don't mind the weird team, I don't actually ladder or make much of a serious attempt at it. I'm just kind of throwing together weird random teams for fun, this one being built around Alolan-Muk primarily.

http://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7pokebankou-486917534