The State of Steels
Since the departure of Registeel (who was, in my opinion, the best Steel-type in the tier) the NU playerbase has looked to other Steel-types to fill its shoes. This is a comprehensive ranking of how strong each option is in relation to each other, with a ranking of where I believe it belongs on the VR.
#1
Klefki A -> A+
Klefki's phenomenal utility as a Spikes setter and incredible secondary Fairy typing earns it a spot on top of the list. It's a great anti-BS check to a plethora of sweepers thanks to its access to Foul Play, Prankster Thunder Wave, and useful STAB attacks. Of all the Steels, it's the best switch-in to Alolan Muk, using its walling capabilities to set free layers of Spikes or even steal items with Magician now that it's taken a Knock Off.
#2
Bronzong A+
Bronzong takes a close second place thanks to its solid mixed bulk and amazing ability Levitate, helping it check some of the tier's strongest sweepers like Flygon and Diancie. It can find a place on just about any team and has a wide variety of viable sets and coverage options. Its greatest downfall is its Psychic typing, which leaves it vulnerable to increasingly common Ghost-type coverage and giving it a disdain for anything with Knock Off. Still, its versatility and role compression keeps it in the A+ tier very closely behind Klefki.
#3
Copperajah A-
Copperajah is the third-best Steel-type in the tier, but it brings a level of offensive pressure and progress-making that no other Steel in the tier can. Its Sheer Force-boosted Iron Head hits like a truck, and Knock Off can be a real pain to switch into. Additionally, Copperajah has access to Whirlwind which can be a nice emergency button versus sweepers, and can mess up Vaporeon's Wish healing attempts. Copperajah's downfall is its awkward defensive stats, preventing it from being both physically and specially bulky simultaneously, while having extremely low Speed. The best use of a Copperajah is to lean into its offensive capabilities while benefitting from the presence of a Steel-type on the team.
#4
Alolan Sandslash B-
Alolan Sandslash is the ultimate role compression mon, bringing a Steel-type, hazards, Rapid Spin, and Knock Off all in one slot. It can check special attackers like Munkidori in a pinch, but its 4x weaknesses to Fighting and Fire leave a lot of situations where you're forced to switch out, tera, or just sack the mon. It is, however, able to find ins versus defensive mons like Amoonguss, Alolan Muk, and Vaporeon where it can fix your hazard problems. It's cool to pair with Alolan Ninetales to get use from Slush Rush and the defense boost, but the pressure of being OHKO'd by many a coverage move is a real pain in the neck.
#5
Bastiodon C
Bastiodon is strange. It has a lot of cool things going for it, namely its ability Soundproof, which lets it completely wall Toxtricity and Hyper Voice Sylveon, while also preventing phasing from Roar. Its base typing is pretty awful, so you should likely plan to commit Tera to this mon. It's probalby best used as a bulky setup win condition with IronPress + Foul Play, which prevents it from being walled by Ghost-types like Basculegion and Chandelure. Its attacking stats are so low, however, that I wouldn't recommend trying to use this as a Diancie check with Heavy Slam.
#6
Duraludon C
On paper, Duraludon feels like it should be better than it really is. It has great physical bulk and brings the unique combination of a Flying and Water resist, which can help patch up holes versus Basculegion and Flamigo. Dragon Tail hard counters Grassy Terrain teams, while more Offensive sets can be quite difficult to switch into with Electric coverage for Vaporeon and Dark Pulse to hit Bronzong. Ultimately its lack of innate special bulk and awkward typing leaving it neutral to Fairy-, Ice-, and Dragon-type attacks makes it awkward to use, but I figure someone will figure out a way to make it good.
Edit: Due to the ease of Bronzong's inclusion on teams and the threat it poses with IronPress sets, I think it probably deserves the #1 slot. But I don't feel like going back and editing it.
Since the departure of Registeel (who was, in my opinion, the best Steel-type in the tier) the NU playerbase has looked to other Steel-types to fill its shoes. This is a comprehensive ranking of how strong each option is in relation to each other, with a ranking of where I believe it belongs on the VR.
#1
Klefki's phenomenal utility as a Spikes setter and incredible secondary Fairy typing earns it a spot on top of the list. It's a great anti-BS check to a plethora of sweepers thanks to its access to Foul Play, Prankster Thunder Wave, and useful STAB attacks. Of all the Steels, it's the best switch-in to Alolan Muk, using its walling capabilities to set free layers of Spikes or even steal items with Magician now that it's taken a Knock Off.
#2
Bronzong takes a close second place thanks to its solid mixed bulk and amazing ability Levitate, helping it check some of the tier's strongest sweepers like Flygon and Diancie. It can find a place on just about any team and has a wide variety of viable sets and coverage options. Its greatest downfall is its Psychic typing, which leaves it vulnerable to increasingly common Ghost-type coverage and giving it a disdain for anything with Knock Off. Still, its versatility and role compression keeps it in the A+ tier very closely behind Klefki.
#3
Copperajah is the third-best Steel-type in the tier, but it brings a level of offensive pressure and progress-making that no other Steel in the tier can. Its Sheer Force-boosted Iron Head hits like a truck, and Knock Off can be a real pain to switch into. Additionally, Copperajah has access to Whirlwind which can be a nice emergency button versus sweepers, and can mess up Vaporeon's Wish healing attempts. Copperajah's downfall is its awkward defensive stats, preventing it from being both physically and specially bulky simultaneously, while having extremely low Speed. The best use of a Copperajah is to lean into its offensive capabilities while benefitting from the presence of a Steel-type on the team.
#4
Alolan Sandslash is the ultimate role compression mon, bringing a Steel-type, hazards, Rapid Spin, and Knock Off all in one slot. It can check special attackers like Munkidori in a pinch, but its 4x weaknesses to Fighting and Fire leave a lot of situations where you're forced to switch out, tera, or just sack the mon. It is, however, able to find ins versus defensive mons like Amoonguss, Alolan Muk, and Vaporeon where it can fix your hazard problems. It's cool to pair with Alolan Ninetales to get use from Slush Rush and the defense boost, but the pressure of being OHKO'd by many a coverage move is a real pain in the neck.
#5
Bastiodon is strange. It has a lot of cool things going for it, namely its ability Soundproof, which lets it completely wall Toxtricity and Hyper Voice Sylveon, while also preventing phasing from Roar. Its base typing is pretty awful, so you should likely plan to commit Tera to this mon. It's probalby best used as a bulky setup win condition with IronPress + Foul Play, which prevents it from being walled by Ghost-types like Basculegion and Chandelure. Its attacking stats are so low, however, that I wouldn't recommend trying to use this as a Diancie check with Heavy Slam.
#6
On paper, Duraludon feels like it should be better than it really is. It has great physical bulk and brings the unique combination of a Flying and Water resist, which can help patch up holes versus Basculegion and Flamigo. Dragon Tail hard counters Grassy Terrain teams, while more Offensive sets can be quite difficult to switch into with Electric coverage for Vaporeon and Dark Pulse to hit Bronzong. Ultimately its lack of innate special bulk and awkward typing leaving it neutral to Fairy-, Ice-, and Dragon-type attacks makes it awkward to use, but I figure someone will figure out a way to make it good.
Edit: Due to the ease of Bronzong's inclusion on teams and the threat it poses with IronPress sets, I think it probably deserves the #1 slot. But I don't feel like going back and editing it.
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