Pokémon Aegislash

[the1BigRed]

I'm wondering if you can take the double dance set and replace shadow claw with shadow ball, and put 252 in SpA. Don't know what to do with close combat though.

That would be:

Aegislash @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Stance Change
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Autotomize
- Swords Dance
- Shadow Ball
- Close Combat

Ok wait I'm stupid

Aegislash @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Stance Change
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Autotomize
- Calm Mind
- Shadow Ball
- Close Combat

 

[lycan2500]

Yeah Max Thunder Punch is its only way. Not only that, I don't think that Electric Terrain goes up the first time you use it. Aegislash is one of the best checks to Hawlucha which is one of the reasons why its used a lot right now.

Also I know I said this before but I really want to emphasize how great + is.
They both combine resist every type in the game, and both complement each other nicely with Aegislash pressuring offensive teams while Hydreigon pressures the bulkier teams.

Also do you guys perfer running Max SpD or Max SpA on Aegislash. Just curious.

Personally, I think the SpA spread is better just because it gives you a far more significant offensive pressence. As much as Aegislash is bulky and King Shield + Sub lets it scout and outplay easily, Aegislash is a mon that deals direct damage this gen. If Toxic was around for it, I could see SpD being better, but SpA investment lets you punish your opponent far better, and even annoy mons like Pex and Mandibuzz since they have to worry if they get bellow 45ish. There also isn't a whole lot of reason, in my opinion, to invest so much in SpD. Aegislash will take damage most of the time with its Subs and with the King Shields. Toxic not being around means SpA is better, imo

 

[ImperialAverstar]

Hi everyone,

Here's a variant of the Substitute + King's Shield set, I saw it first in a Lord Emvee's video on youtube and it worked out pretty nicely in lots of games :

Sub + King's Shield

Aegislash @ Leftovers
Ability: Stance Change
EVs: 240 HP / 252 SpA / 16 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Attack
- Substitute
- Flash Cannon
- Shadow Ball
- King's Shield

Moves

Substitute gains Aegislash free attacking turns against Pokemon that are incapable of breaking its Substitute with one attack, such as Toxapex, non-Knock Off Ferrothorn, Jellicent and Corviknight. Once behind the Substitute, Aegislash turns into an offensive threat that deals a good amount of damage to all the OU metagame while acting as a decent wall-breaker thanks to Shadow Ball's and Flash Cannon's ability to drop the foes' Sp.Def.
Flash Cannon and Shadow Ball are two stong STABS that neutrally hit all the OU metagame. In this set, Flash Cannon is prefered over Sacred Sword to super-effectively hit Fairy-Types and OHKO Hatterene after Stealth Rock damage. King's shield is mandatory on Aegislash letting it go back into Shield Form, regain its defensive stats, scout for moves, gain an extra turn of Leftovers recovery and drop the physical threats' Attack.

Set Details

240 HP EVs ensure Aegislash avoids the OHKO from Modest Specs Dragapult's Shadow Ball in Shield Form. Maximum Sp.Attack investment and a modest nature allow Aegislash to hit as hard as possible and progressively break through common defensive Pokemon. 16 Speed EVs allow Aegislash to constently outspeed uninvested 60 and 61 BS Speed Pokemon such as Clefable and Tyranitar. However Aegislash can opt for a 64 Speed EVs investment in order to outspeed uninvested Corviknight but it exposes Aegislash to a potential OHKO from Timid Specs Dragapult's Shadow Ball. Leftovers give Aegislash more opportunities to use substitute throughout the game and pair well with King's Shield.

Usage Tips

Due to its low tier speed, Aegislash's needs a Substitute to get its job done, its priority should be to set up a Substitute against Pokemon that it forces out or Pokemon that can't break its Substitute, such as Corviknight, non-Night Shade Jellicent and Toxapex. Once behind a Substitute, Aegislash's combination of STABS and its unique access to King's Shield should be used to progressively wear down foes and check the potential choice locked incoming threats such as Dragapult or Galarian Darmanitan. Entry hazards help a lot Aegislash in progressively wearing down opposing Pokemon, try to always keep them up on the field. Thanks to it's great typing, Aegislash only takes few damages from Stealth Rock which maximise its ability to switch in pokemon it can beat. Leech seed and paralysis-statu hinder Aegislash's ability to damage foes or break through defensive Pokemon, try not to switch into these moves and avoid them with Substitute whenever possible.

 

[sujeong]

how would a more offensive banded/scarfed aegis look? was playing around with something like and it doesn't seem too bad?

Aegislash @ Choice Band
Ability: Stance Change
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
- Close Combat
- Iron Head
- Shadow Sneak
- Head Smash

 

[ImperialAverstar]

If playing Band Aegislash I would probably recommand to run 64/68Speed EVs to outspeed LO Clefable (you still should be careful about few faster ones) and OHKO it with Iron Head . Here are the calcs, the first one is against LO Clefable, the second is against the classical Magic Guard Clefable.

252+ Atk Choice Band Aegislash-Blade Iron Head vs. 196 HP / 0 Def Clefable: 590-696 (155.2 - 183.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Aegislash-Blade Iron Head vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Clefable: 398-470 (101 - 119.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Band Aegislash is definitely not bad, I used to play it a bit and it really surprises people, however I won't say that it is a great set either.

 

[TURBODERP]

If playing Band Aegislash I would probably recommand to run 64/68Speed EVs to outspeed LO Clefable (you still should be careful about few faster ones) and OHKO it with Iron Head . Here are the calcs, the first one is against LO Clefable, the second is against the classical Magic Guard Clefable.

252+ Atk Choice Band Aegislash-Blade Iron Head vs. 196 HP / 0 Def Clefable: 590-696 (155.2 - 183.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Aegislash-Blade Iron Head vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Clefable: 398-470 (101 - 119.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Band Aegislash is definitely not bad, I used to play it a bit and it really surprises people, however I won't say that it is a great set either.

I'm forgetting how much speed LO Clef runs exactly, but I think it ends up being slower than Mandibuzz, which is a better benchmark (16 Speed Buzz might become the standard again, which hits 200 Speed).

Being able to outspeed and 2HKO Mandibuzz with Head Smash is really valuable, especially since Mandibuzz can pretty freely switch into Aegislash otherwise since it doesn't have to fear Toxic anymore.

 

[ImperialAverstar]

I'm forgetting how much speed LO Clef runs exactly, but I think it ends up being slower than Mandibuzz, which is a better benchmark (16 Speed Buzz might become the standard again, which hits 200 Speed).

Being able to outspeed and 2HKO Mandibuzz with Head Smash is really valuable, especially since Mandibuzz can pretty freely switch into Aegislash otherwise since it doesn't have to fear Toxic anymore.

LO Clefable usually runs 60 to 64 Speed EVs in order to outspeed uninvested Corviknight.
Being faster than Buzz on Aegislash might be an idea but you're losing a useful HP Pool (180Speed EVs is a huge investment on a 60BS Speed Mon) and Choice Band Head Smash OHKOes even a full Def Mandibuzz version (even if this version is pretty rare nowadays anyways), so I'd probably rather catch Buzz on the switch than outspeed it, but it would still remain a fair option I guess.

 

[LORD SAGIS]

So I've completely moved my interest to Natdex OU at this point. But in that tier I've seen this amazing set pop up there and I'm wondering if it has used in this format yet.

Aegislash @ Choice Specs
Ability: Stance Change
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
- Shadow Ball
- Flash Cannon
- Steel Beam
- Sacred Sword

This set is hilarious as it lets Aegislash kill Mandibuzz after a bit of chip. Ever since Dynamax got banned it could no longer use Head Smash to lure it reliably. It kills Hippowdon in 1 hit most of time as well.

252+ SpA Choice Specs Aegislash-Blade Steel Beam vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Mandibuzz: 297-349 (70 - 82.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252+ SpA Choice Specs Aegislash-Blade Steel Beam vs. 252 HP / 176 SpD Hippowdon: 418-493 (99.5 - 117.3%) -- 93.8% chance to OHKO after Leftovers recovery

 

[Gary]

Yea I made a post about that set in the metagame discussion a few days ago here. Specs Aegi is arguably one of its most potent sets right now for its ability to tear apart fat cores and lure in common Ghost resists such as Mandi like you mentioned. Also you want CC > Sacred because otherwise you need investment to OHKO Tyranitar.

 

[firstbrhere]

I've been trying out this set for Aegislash and i think it's worth giving a try.

Aegislash @ Leftovers
Ability: Stance Change
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk
Brave Nature
- Swords Dance
- Shadow Sneak / Shadow Claw / (Sacred Sword?)
- King's Shield
- Iron Head / (Sacred Sword?)

Using king's shield correctly should gives surprisingly good recovery with leftovers and swords dance allows u to capitalize on switches. Shadow Claw allows u to deal with defensive walls more effectively but leaves you susceptible to dragapult's shadowball revenge kill( 75.9 - 89.5% for timid specs dragapult)

 

[levitategengar]

Does anything in the meta counter or check Specs Aegislash?

I just went through the entire OU list and the only answer I can see is AV or HDB Inciniroar

 

[JTD783]

Does anything in the meta counter or check Specs Aegislash?

I just went through the entire OU list and the only answer I can see is AV or HDB Inciniroar

Few mons can switch into it more than once. Assuming it’s using Shadow Ball, Flash Cannon, Toxic, and either Steel Beam or Close Combat, there are a couple answers. Specially defensive Toxapex can handle it iirc, same with Ferrothorn. For offense teams, Bisharp resists dual STABs but must watch out for CC. It will get worn down incredibly fast but it can serve as a check if the game doesn’t get drawn out. Snorlax can also handle non-CC variants. Mandibuzz works fine as long as there’s a cleric due to the inevitable Toxic.

 

[TURBODERP]

RestTalk SpDef Centiskorch is also a good answer, beating out non-Head Smash variants and not caring too much about Toxic.

 

[VannAccessible]

Thinking about some Sub+Toxic checks and counters:

Infiltration Dragapult can force out Sub Toxic Aegislash, Bulletproof Sub BD Kommo-O sets up on it (EQ variant preferred to avoid the Sheild drop), and Curse+Rest Snorlax effortlessly sets up on it as well.

 

[levitategengar]

RestTalk SpDef Centiskorch is also a good answer, beating out non-Head Smash variants and not caring too much about Toxic.

Few mons can switch into it more than once. Assuming it’s using Shadow Ball, Flash Cannon, Toxic, and either Steel Beam or Close Combat, there are a couple answers. Specially defensive Toxapex can handle it iirc, same with Ferrothorn. For offense teams, Bisharp resists dual STABs but must watch out for CC. It will get worn down incredibly fast but it can serve as a check if the game doesn’t get drawn out. Snorlax can also handle non-CC variants. Mandibuzz works fine as long as there’s a cleric due to the inevitable Toxic.

This is pretty alarming. Counters: none. Checks: AV Inciniroar, Snorlax, SpDef Pex. Anything else?

SpDef Ferrothorn outright loses to Aeglisash. It's slower and can't do much back
Centiskorch loses as well, it's slower and is nearly 2HKO'd, no reliable recovery. TBD on how the meta develops but I don't expect it to be very relevant
The only reason spdef Pex can check is because you can scout what move Aegislash is locked into and regenerate switch-out. Otherwise, there's very little Pex can do back and it gets 2HKO'd after SR like the above.

 

[Creator of Chaos]

In terms of overall checks to Aegislash. Heal bell Umbreon with foul play can handle most set's and is as close to a hard check as you'll get but it fits on very few teams and invites anything fairy in. Toxapex as already mentioned but does little back and snorlax but it hates CC.

Your best bet sadly is to have multiple soft checks to aegi depending on how your team is set up. Av incineroar alongside bisharp on offense for example or just limit its chances to switch in but that's easier said then done!

 

[theotherguytm]

Yeah, Aegi losing Toxic was an important part of its nerf. Now it has it back...
Oh and it gets Block so you can do this:
Aegislash @ Leftovers
Ability: Stance Change
EVs: 236 HP / 252 Def / 20 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Block
- Toxic
- Substitute/Confide
- King's Shield/Confide/Flash Cannon/Protect
Trapping is once again fair and balanced. Trap Aegi's usual checks and Toxic them to death. HP EVs maximise leftovers recovery. Confide is an option for those sadists that like to PP stall, Flash Cannon makes you not Taunt bait, Protect may well be better than KS on this set for blocking status moves.