This is a quick post on Diancie in the meta and on why the mon is broken in the builder but bad in game
Diancie is broken in the builder because you don’t have many solutions to play defensively into it. By “defensive solution,” I mean that Diancie is on the field and you need to switch something into it. From then on, it has the coverage and damage to burst through most defensive cores.
Here is how I play most of my M-Dia, and I think this is the best set. The item can change and almost any move can be played; the most common options are Headlong Rush / Blue Flare / Gigaton Hammer / Population Bomb / Surging Strikes / Stone Axe.
Diancie-Mega @ Pixie Plate
Ability: Pixilate
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Def / 252 SpA / 252 SpD / 252 Spe
Rash Nature
- Boomburst
- Extreme Speed
- Pyro Ball
- Steam Eruption
The only things that can play defensively into this are Imp + Regen Steel, or neutral Ice Scales (I don’t see anyone playing it; people should be more innovative in the builder). The first is very splashable but can also easily be abused if you don’t allow Imp to heal. The second is destroyed by Pop Bomb but is less abusable by the rest of the meta.
From this point, you would think M-Dia should have an incredible winrate and win every game, but that is not the case at all. In game, Diancie is bad most of the time, and a lot of the meta has adapted to it. Firstly, it has a mediocre defensive typing in BH: three neutral weaknesses and one double weakness, while it has five resistances. Most of these resistances are useless in the meta: it resists Normal, Bug, and Flying, but those three types don’t see significant use, and when they do, the users aren’t using their STAB (except for some Aerilate users). So it has only two real resistances, Fire and Dark. The best Fire-type is Primal Groudon, so you can’t switch M-Dia into it without risking a Ground move, and the best Dark-type is Ash-Greninja with a Water STAB. The mon is weak to the best coverage in the meta (Ground / Water) and takes x4 from Steel moves, which are played a lot (Rev Dance / Gigaton).
Diancie also has relatively bad bulk compared to the BH standard of 50/110/110: if we rearrange the stats, it is equivalent to a 100/71/71 bulk. It is also very weak to chip damage from hazards or status, because it needs to be on the field for a long time to do its work.
So overall, you can’t switch M-Dia into most of the meta, even defensive cores, because of its own defensive flaws. Even if it is able to come in with some sort of slow turn, it then needs to be safe. In game, it won’t have much room to do what it needs to do to be broken, because Diancie’s entry points are very limited.
Here is how I adapted to Dia’s presence in the meta.
HPL Week 3 vs Teamo
I try to remove most of M-Dia’s entry points with pressure. The only mon that allows Dia in is Darkceus, and it will otherwise be knocked out or Salt Cured on the switch. Secondly, I set up hazards as fast as possible and try to maintain them for most of the game. Lastly, I put a Steel coverage move on the mons that Dia could abuse. I can’t allow Dia to have two entry points; one of Eternatus or Dark Deus needs to delete it if it is in front. I even had defensive resources to beat Dia thanks to Levi Don + Regen Steel
In game, I didn’t play it well, but I still managed to give Dia only two entry points, and the second one was deleted by Gigaton
OMCL Week 1
I have Scales Arc Fairy (neutral Scales) but also Regen Steel, with Scarf Kartana and Gigaton Zama. The only mon that allows Dia in is Mence, and if it succeeds in coming in, I have defensive answers. It came in once and clicked Headlong Rush once on Arc Fairy, and it did nothing in the game
HPL Semis Tie break, builded by Ivar, Vnmmv and myself
Even though we didn’t face Dia, it is interesting to see how we tried to beat it. We beat Diancie offensively: five mons outspeed Dia, and four of them threaten a direct KO. Only Korai can’t, but the slowest mon, Regi, has Rev Dance and also threatens a KO. It is a Psy Surge M-Zam, so Dia can’t count on Extreme Speed to menace Gren or Zam out and gain an entry point. Defensively, we still have Regi + Scarf PDon, but one bad click and the game is over. That would never have happened, though, because we wouldn’t have allowed Diancie to come onto the field even once
Round 11 of SSNL
I am playing Special offense with no entry point for Dia; most of my mons are pressuring for a KO, and I have FC Solg defensively behind. In game, it needed to explode the first time it came in, or it would have died anyway to Lunala.
Round 9 of SSNL
Defensively, I have Imp + Regen Steel + Regen Mpert. In game, it Stone Axed once, used Extreme Speed once, and then died to Imp.
Round 8 of SSNL
I have Levi Don + Imp + Regen Steel; Ash-Gren and Water Ceus don’t allow it in. Specs Dia came in multiple times but achieved nothing against Regi.
Maybe it is my playstyle that allows me to beat Dia so often. And yes, in the builder you can’t really do things defensively, because it might have Blue Flare for your FC Steel, Pyro Ball for your Regen Steel, Pop Bomb for your neutral Scales, Water coverage for Levi Don, Ground coverage to hit Regen Steel + Imp at the same time, or Steel coverage to beat Imp itself. But at the same time, it has almost no entry points. If you build proactively enough, you will be fine, and even offense has found answers to hit with Psy spam, and there is even more to do in terms of innovation.
The issue I have with Dia is that it can bully neutral Scales and bait the most linear line, turning it into a free kill. If Pop Bomb were out, I would probably be fine with Dia in the meta.
The real question I want to ask the Suspect Qualifiers is: “Do you want a meta with less diversity in terms of mons but that is really competitive, or a more diversified meta that is less competitive?” Right now there is less diversity than before, but good builders and good players are rewarded; it is very competitive, and I think we are one or two bans away from having the most competitive meta in a long time. Or you may want more diversity, which would probably mean more fish, but then the meta would be less competitive than it is right now. Your vote will be influenced by how you see BH as a tier. There is no bad interpretation; it is your way of enjoying BH
