OU BW OU Samples Thread

FNH

F is for Finchi, N is for Nator, H is for Hater
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Maintained by the BW community.

Hello! This thread is here to archive teams from the Black and White Overused metagame and showcase popular playstyles and archetypes of the current metagame. Its aim is to help beginners and intermediate level players to get acclimated to the tier, or simply to help anyone in need of a solid team to play.

The teams here are added, replaced and updated by knowledgeable hosts who are directly in touch with top players and the general base of players, to keep them up to date with the current metagame. Thus, submissions are closed unlike in current generation tiers.

Any general feedback on the content and quality here is appreciated to further make this a better resource.
Click on sprites for team

Sand Teams
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In a tier that is defined by the never-ending weather, sand stands out as the most popular in the meta game and it’s not hard to see why; there is a general flexibility in teambuilding that is afforded with common sand cores that have a natural way of blanket checking most of the meta. The core itself, as one will see in the teams below, is flexible as well. Allowing builders to tinker with how they fill each role to better support the aim of their team. The presence of passive damage from Sandstorm helping minimize the impact of opposing threats by removing leftovers damage or just limiting the number of turns they can attack before having to recover, is a key avenue in which sand teams make progress. The ease of introduction of Sandstorm, thanks to its primary setter, Tyranitar, makes it difficult for opponents to leverage the boosts of another weather against you; this is a massive bonus to running sand. Just preventing opponents from exploiting a different weather is excellent on its own. Sand is categorized by the consistency and diversity that teams possess with builds striking a balance between offensive and defensive members.
Sand #1: Keldeo + LO Zam PsySpam by crucify
:tyranitar::landorus-therian::ferrothorn::keldeo::latios::alakazam:

Sand #2: Landorus + Rotom-W PsySpam by Finchinator
:tyranitar::landorus-therian::skarmory::rotom-wash::latios::alakazam:

Sand #3: Hippo + Reuniclus PsySpam by dice
:hippowdon::ferrothorn::magnezone::excadrill::latios::reuniclus:

Sand #4: SkarmJelli HO by Finchinator
:skarmory::jellicent::tyranitar::mamoswine::excadrill::alakazam:

Sand #5: GroundSpam offense by Shoka
:Tyranitar::landorus-therian::excadrill::celebi::rotom-wash::garchomp:

Sand #6: Keldeo + Mamoswine offense by ABR
:tyranitar::gliscor::excadrill::keldeo::mamoswine::amoonguss:



Rain Teams
________________________________________________________________________________________

Sand archetypes play to the power of consistent residual damage negating recovery and forcing incremental progress. Rain has a more direct and dynamic approach given how many boosted moves there are to exploit when it’s raining. When it comes to structures, sand has a plethora of options, but rain builds follow a stricter structure. Dominated by the defensive backbone of Politoed, Ferrothorn, and a Rapid Spin user, Rain teams predominantly focus on getting the most out of their next three options while catering sets to their needs due to some under-spoken internal versatility. With options such as Latios, Thundurus-Therian, Keldeo, and Tornadus being common additions that all greatly benefit from Rain, it should be unsurprising that these teams pack quite the punch. The combination of hazard induced pressure, Scald being a constant threat to cripple any opposing switch-in, and the potential for multiple Protect users to thwart opposing momentum gives Rain a plethora of openings for the aggressive player, making it a playstyle with a high ceiling and lots of potential to dominate. Downsides do exist in the form of limited defensive slots and repetitive teams being used, leading to predictability, but with how effective the boosts that Rain provides are, these teams powerful brings nonetheless.
Rain #1: Standard Rain by BKC
:politoed::ferrothorn::tentacruel::keldeo::thundurus-therian::latios:

Rain #2: SubCM Jirachi by BKC
:politoed::ferrothorn::tentacruel::jirachi::thundurus-therian::latios:

Rain #3: U-turn Thund + Mamo by Monai
:politoed::ferrothorn::tentacruel::mamoswine::thundurus-therian::latios:

Rain #4: EB Politoed + Specs Keldeo by Finchinator
:politoed::ferrothorn::starmie::garchomp::keldeo::thundurus-therian:

Rain #5: Sub Kyurem-B by BluBirD
:politoed::ferrothorn::starmie::garchomp::latios::kyurem-black:



Hyper Offense Teams
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Rather than focus on a weather synergy, many offensive teams opt for chains of strong attackers to overwhelm an opponent's defensive core. The Drag-Mag strategy can go all out on running through opponents with Pokemon that would be stuffed by Steel-types, while Volcarona + Dragonite builds abuse the turns that conventional teams would use to set Stealth Rock. The unfortunate downside of not bringing your own weather is players must now play with what every weather their opponent decides to bring, unless the builder chooses to include Abomasnow. Rain can constant use of boosted Water-type moves and abilities like Rain Dish, while Sand erodes the health of staples like Dragonite and Cloyster for their revenge killers. Despite these drawbacks, the upfront power of these teams can easily overwhelm their opponent before they have time to use their weather advantage.
HO #1: Smurf by Smurf.
:garchomp::breloom::scizor::starmie::volcarona::dragonite:

HO #2: Physical offense by Finchinator
:terrakion::breloom::scizor::starmie::garchomp::dragonite:

HO #3: Abomasnow + Cloyster by dice
:landorus-therian::abomasnow::cloyster::jirachi::volcarona::dragonite:

HO #4: Cloyster DragMag by Vulpix03
:garchomp::magnezone::starmie::cloyster::jirachi::dragonite:

Past Teams Archive
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To help capture the changes over the years old teams have been saved below. Teams stored here were once influencial and represented a trend or structure common then, but are no longer as effective in the current meta as they once were.
:politoed::Tentacruel::Ferrothorn::Latios::tornadus::Garchomp:
Rain Nō 3 [Tornadus + Substitute Garchomp by Caetano93]
The two genies, Thundurus-therian and Tornadus, frequent rain teams because both become so much better in the rain whether it’s getting Leftovers recovery or perfect accuracy on their STAB’s of choice. Thundurus-therians coverage and better typing has made it the standard choice when going with the rain, but Tornadus is a monster as well. In terms of defensive roles, Tornadus really has none unlike Thundurus-Therian, but its offensive output via STAB Hurricane can be rather hard to deal with especially when paired alongside U-turn allowing Tornadus to pivot to members for better positioning. This offensive power pairs well with Garchomp, who beats Tornadus’s traditional counters of Tyranitar, Spdef Heatran and Jirachi. Tornadus’s presence constantly forces in checks that have to eat a U-turn into Garchomp. The natural Scald stack of rain’s defensive trio further bolsters Garchomp’s presence when stuff like Ferrothorn can no longer remain healthy throughout the game due to a scald burn. Scarf Latios capitalizes on the damage and pressure late game providing excellent speed control and giving players a late game option to clean opponent’s teams.
Will add as I collect them! Have or know of a replay for this team shoot me a message with it!
:tyranitar::Volcarona::Latios::Seismitoad::Excadrill::Landorus-therian:
Sand Nō 7 [Volcarona Sand by Excal edited by Raiza]
Excal’s Volcarona sand deviates from the typical bulky spikes and Psychics, previously seen on other builds. It’s the first team on this list that is looking to get one turn to set up into the “gg”. Meaning that this whole build is centered around getting to a position where you can bring Volcarona in to Quiver Dance and sweep your opponent. Volcarona sands are unique as they are a sand really excels when facing other standard sand structures. Opposing teams whose members are predominantly Psychic type naturally run into problems when facing an offensive bug-type sweeper such as Volcarona. The defensive structure to the team is a bit different. It lacks a traditional back bone of other builds, opting for its sole steel type in a rather frail Excadrill. Seismitoad picks up the slack by being the status absorber, while using its own Scald burns to cripple Ferrothorn and Rotom-Wash, making Landorus-Therian and Excadrill so much more effective. Scald burns will be key to crippling opponents’ defensive structures in which Excadrill and Landorus-Therian can exploit as well.
:tyranitar::Skarmory::Heatran::Jellicent::Latios::Alakazam:
Sand Nō 8 [Skarm Magic Guard by Jimmy Turtwig]
Alakazam with spikes is always going to be a viable strategy in the tier. It's very simple and very effective. Most builds prioritize that defensive structure to ensure persistent harassment throughout the entire game, but Jimmy Turtwig’s approach is somewhat more offensively minded. Teams like this forgo a defensive cohesion and longevity in order to amply exert enough pressure upon opponents in order to reach that winning position. Using an older weatherless offense variant of Skarmory, Custap Skarmory can ensure that Stealth rocks and one layer of spikes always goes up in the first two turns while using Taunt to help prevent opponents from stacking hazards early in the game. Jimmy then utilized pulled a classic pairing of spikes stack + a spin blocker (ie. ghost type to prevent rapid spin from working) to ensure that the hazards stay up all game. Stealth Rock and a layer of Spikes enables Alakazam, Dragon gem Latios and offensive Heatran to be far more effective when their counters are forced to take hazard damage while trying to check them.
:Jirachi::Kyurem-black::Magnezone::Dragonite::Garchomp::Latios:
Weatherless Nō 1 [Dragmag BKC edit of Ciele]
Dragons and Magnezone is an age old archetype that has been played longer then I have been playing. Its a simple strategy: Use Magnezone to trap and remove steels, leaving your opponent with no more remaining resists to dragon stab. Over loading your dragons on a build like this is important despite the loss of defensive cohesion, but remember the goal is trap steels and overwhelm; sometimes it takes that extra dragon to really push your opponents pass the limits of what their team can handle.
Will add as I collect them! Have or know of a replay for this team shoot me a message with it!
:garchomp::breloom::starmie::scizor::volcarona::dragonite:
Smurf by Smurf. submitted by Smurf Nation
Other versions: (Finchinators, Dr Caetano93's)
When the majority of teams being in the meta are Psychic Spike sand structures, its only natural that players looking to get a better match up react with team choices that give an excellent match up. Despite being made years ago, Smurf's Volcarona offense remains relevant for its excellent match up to the standard sand team. What makes this team so lethal, is not just the 6 it has, but that every member can be used as a wincon. Each member has a set up move, giving the player a multitude of paths to make progress and win. This team has been replicated in multiple ways as well making it harder to tell what exact version a player is facing.
:Skarmory::Gastrodon::Reuniclus::Tyranitar::Latias::Heatran:
Reuniclus Sand Balance by Leftiez
:tyranitar::Mienshao::Gliscor::Skarmory::Amoonguss::Alakazam:
Scarf Mienshao by SoulWind
:Alakazam::Garchomp::Ferrothorn::Landorus-therian::jellicent::Tyranitar:
Alakazam and Choice Band Garchomp by Jirachee
:Scizor::Magnezone::landorus-therian::starmie::Dragonite::Garchomp:
Weatherless Nō 2 Magnezone Offense by Jirachee
:Politoed::Gliscor::ferrothorn::Tentacruel::jirachi::keldeo:
Rain Nō 1 Sub Gliscor Balance by ABR
:Tyranitar::reuniclus::Skarmory::garchomp::Jellicent::heatran:
Sand Nō 6 CB Garchomp Semistall by Jirachee
:Tyranitar::breloom::Latios::Skarmory::reuniclus::gastrodon:
Sand Nō 7 CM reun + Gastro by FNH
:tyranitar::Gliscor::ferrothorn::rotom-wash::latios::alakazam:
Sand Nō 5 SD Gliscor by FNH
:politoed::Keldeo::Tentacruel::Ferrothorn::Landorus-therian::thundurus-therian:
Rain Nō 3 Sub Thundurus Balance
:excadrill::breloom::Jirachi::Rotom-wash::Latios::Landorus-therian:
W-Less Nō 2 [Sub Punch Loom by Finchinator



:tyranitar::Skarmory::Gastrodon::reuniclus::Alakazam::gliscor:
Sand Nō 1 [Skarm Magic Guard Spikes submitted by peng]
This team plays off the power of passive damage to break opponents, chipping opponents. Traditional sand cores of Landorus-Therian Rotom-W, Ferrothorn have always faced the problem of remaining healthy as the game progresses; the more defensive structure of Skarmory, Gastrodon, and Gliscor all have excellent Hp recovery but lack much offensive positioning to make progress. Spikes, on something this defensive, are key to making progress vs opponents defensive structures; Reuniclus and Alakazam are the primary avenues of offensive output and pressure, both becoming far more threatening when their opposing checks are forced to take entry damage in the game.
:tyranitar::gliscor::excadrill::milotic::Celebi::Magnezone:
Sand Nō 2 [SD Gliscor Celebi Milo by Finchinator]
Persistent weather and passive abuse, paired with a sweeper that is seriously hard to kill, this team represents the common Gliscor + Magnezone archetype of the tier. Following common trends in the defensive pairings of sand teams with Ground Flying, Water, Grass, Finchinator deviated from traditional picks with the use of Milotic and Celebi together to give a backbone to the team. Milotic’s bulk, access to recover and refresh makes it a viable replacement to a slot traditionally filled by Gastrodon on similar builds. Although Celebi lacks the steel typing of Ferrothorn and access to spikes, its placement in the team gives this build answers to threats such as Thundurus-Therian and Keldeo while giving the team a pivot to safely get in other members. The strategy here is simple, keep sand up and trap steel types, then use Gliscor to break down opposing teams.
:Tyranitar::Latios::Landorus-therian::Ferrothorn::Alakazam::Excadrill:
Sand Nō 3 [Alakazam Offense]

This is a classic build that was proliferated throughout the tournament scene with minor alterations. It has the ageless defensive structure of Tyranitar, Ferrothorn, and Landorus-Therian, giving the team an answer to about everything the metagame can throw at it. Latios is in a slot typically filled by Rotom-Wash. He gives the team not only a better answer to threats such as Keldeo and Thundurus-Therian, but Latios forces in Psychic counters such as Tyranitar, hitting it, in turn giving Alakazam so much more freedom later in the game. In similar vein to other Magic guard structures, this team utilizes Psychic types as a primary avenue of offensive pressure. Ferrothorn’s ease of getting on the field and stacking spikes further bolsters the team member’s offensive pressure. Excadrill has amazing offensive presence, but rapid spins value can’t be stressed enough on a team whose members only form of recovery is via Leftovers bar Latios. The trend for the standard of Sand builds continues: Get up spikes, get up sand, and get your psychics in.
:Tyranitar::Gliscor::Ferrothorn::reuniclus::Latios::Alakazam:
Sand Nō 4 [Tri Psy By Finchinator]
This six, along with team 1 (Skarm Magic Guard Spikes), are meta defining builds. Use the power of passive damage to break down opponents in order to set up your Psychic's to clean later in the game. Running a similar core to the traditional Ground Flying, Water, Grass steel, Finchinator replaced the water slot with Reuniclus to help overload Psychic checks on opponents’ teams. Latios though comes with a twist from what was tradition. Tyranitar, the tiers most common answer to Magic Guard abusers, needs to have Chople berry in order to take a Focus Blast from opposing psychics. With spikes up though, Latios can lure in Tyranitar to force it into taking a hit plus entry hazard damage, bringing it closer to a health range in which Alakazam can effectively beat it. This gives your two other Psychic types more freedom to harass the opponents. The plan here remains simple: Get up sand, get up spikes, use Reuniclus and Latios to hit opposing psychic type checks then bring alakazam in late game to finish it out.
:Tyranitar::Latios::Landorus-therian::Ferrothorn::Rotom-wash::Excadrill:
Sand Nō 5 [Scarf Latios Offense by M Dragon edited by ABR and BKC]
Despite the minor differences in how a team looks from others (notably team 3), the end product can be vastly different. The basic sand team structure of Tyranitar, Landorus-Therian, Ferrothorn, and Rotom-wash give so much flexibility in the choice of the last two slots. This team made by M Dragon is a classic 6 and represents sand builds that don’t utilize the magic guard spikes strategy. There is a uniqueness to the roles each member of the build has with each member having defensive supporting or offensive potential, giving a range of lines to take in game with the flexibility the 6 presents. Hazards push the offensive potential of Landorus-Therian, Latios, and Excadrill even further. Don’t undervalue the role Rotom-Wash plays here. Slow volt-switching on an opponent to safely get in your own threats in while hazards are up dominates the momentum of a game, constantly forcing opponents into reactionary play. All in all, this is a flexible build that can deal with the modern meta game well.
:Tyranitar::Latios::Landorus-therian::Excadrill::Breloom::Rotom-wash:
Sand Nō 6 [SD Breloom submitted by FNH]
Breloom’s immunity to scald burns excellent offensive pressure, and ease of coming in on common passive Pokemon makes it an alluring choice. It synergizes well with other Pokemon that do not like Scald abusers or Rotom-wash. A traditional sand core can be easily modified to accommodate Breloom with frequent members such as Landorus-Therian and Excadrill benefitting from having a team member who can easily deal with scald abusers. The structure to this team is a similar to traditional sand defensive structures but with Ferrothorn dropped for Breloom. This gives up spikes support for a more immediate threat. Rotom-Wash’s slow volt switch once again really supports the team by helping keep Breloom and other members get come in opportunistically to pressure opponents or pivot as well to other members of the team. Getting up stealth rocks and keeping them up will be key to preventing opponents from benefitting from leftovers recovery. It’s a simple team to use but requires aggressive play to work.
:politoed::Tentacruel::Ferrothorn::Keldeo::thundurus-therian::latios:
Rain Nō 1 [Specs Keldeo Offense by Finchinator]
These six have been what is considered a standard rain team for a while now. Rain builds are centered around not only abusing the power of drizzle, but the power of scald. The natural stack of scald users here forces burns on water resists such as Rotom-W, Latios, and Ferrothorn enabling your own attackers to exploit crippled defensive Pokemon while also ensuring your more passive members, Tentacruel and Politoed can make progress throughout the game. The standard defensive structure of Politoed, Ferrothorn, and Tentacruel gives the defensive solidity, and Ferrothorn’s spikes pushes the attacking potential of any member on the team far beyond the normal capabilities. This defensive core gives the freedom to utilize some of the more absurd threats the rain has. Thundurus-Therian, Keldeo, and Latios are all massive threats in the rain. Thundurus-therians can sub up on opposing Ferrothorn and dish out attacks safely while specs Keldeo’s rain boosted Hydro Pump can be impossible to deal with when your opponent lacks a pure water immunity. Latios gives an avenue to finish out the game, and a last resort effort to deal with set up attackers such as Reuniclus by tricking its choice scarf.
:politoed::Tentacruel::Ferrothorn::Keldeo::thundurus-therian::Dragonite:
Rain Nō 2 [Substitute DD Dragonite by Caetano93]
Rain oftentimes finds itself lacking a true win condition, reliant on the combined breaking power of its hard-hitters to form a winning path in the later stages of games. Enter Dragonite, which can serve as a superb and unexpected win condition on Rain teams that still have plenty of firepower on the offensive end. While bulky Dragon Dance Dragonite is not the most consistent option, struggling against Skarmory, Mamoswine, and Hidden Power Ice Reuniclus, this Rain team has options that can make quick work of all three while still maintaining their normal offensive presences. Pokemon like Encore Politoed and 3 attacks Thundurus-Therian are able to open the door so Dragonite can slam it shut to conclude games. With the assistance of Toxic Spikes Tentacruel, putting a timer on many opposing teams, and revenge killing threat Scarf Keldeo, this team can function well in most match-ups.
:politoed::tornadus::ferrothorn::tentacruel::Latios::mamoswine:
Rain Nō 5 [Sub Mamo Sub Torn by Finchinator]
In a metagame with an increasing amount of hyper offense, Rain finds itself needing more room for priority and speed control. Enter Mamoswine and Tornadus, a duo that can punish the most offensive cores out there. This Rain bulky offense functions based off of the normal trio of defensive Politoed, utility Tentactuel, and hazard-setter Ferrothorn, running a set intended to take advantage of opposing Rotom-Wash's early game antics, but it has a unique combination of offensive assets that help close games out. Mamoswine's dual STAB is already devastating, but with Salac Berry, it can also sweep unprepared offensive teams later in games and Substitute can even take advantage of switches that try to bank on misprediction. Tornadus is another sneaky offensive option that can scout out the opponent with Prankster Substitute + Protect, taking advantage of the numerous status users the team has, and also packs a fast punch. Scarf Latios rounds out the team as another revenge killing option, Thundurus check, and timely Trick user to round things out nicely.
:Politoed::Tentacruel::Jirachi::Thundurus-therian::Breloom::Latios:
Rain Nō 6 [Rain Jirachi Loom Submitted by FNH]
Rain's reliance on Ferrothorn Politoed and Tentacruel defensive structures is well justified based on how effective the three are, but that isn’t to say that other structures don’t exist or don’t work. they are in fact quite viable. Jirachi and Breloom rain structures have the unique position of giving rain its own scald absorption. Breloom is excellent vs sand structures on its own, but in this role, it gives the team a scald absorber and a more concrete option to capitalize on Rotom-Wash. Jirachi is rather unique because its much worse than Ferrothorn and you lose access to spikes, but in return Jirachi gives rain a better option when dealing Alakazam spikes. Thundurus-therian and Breloom are the primary avenues of offensive output here, each using their substitutes to safely dish out damage.
 
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I feel like some relevant mons aren't included in this pool of samples. They're quite niche in fairness, but they still fit on teams worth including imo

I was thinking Aero deserves a sample, maybe SoulWind's 6 of Aero/Cloy/Volc/Dnite/Scizor/Latios could work.

Clef (while niche) definitely has a real presence. Dice's Clefable Smack Lando team would be perfect for that. That would manage to sneak Slowbro and Latias in as well.

While Torn rains are more rare nowadays, maybe dice's Starmie Thund Torn Lati rain could work? It feels sad to mention torn in the description for rain and then just not have a team with it lol

Heatran's also not represented at all, but good teams with it can be a head-scratcher. Maybe the somewhat old-school Heatran Keldeo Celebi structure could work?
 
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