Some thoughts before I clock out for tonight:
idk dude just read quz's post when he finishes it
Nowadays Diancie can use it on tankier builds to fish for Defense procs and make itself harder to KO, useful for gaining an edge against certain mons it might be tasked with taking on, and as a means of powering up Body Press which it has the option of running.
I'd say the most obvious route we could take is what Diamond Storm + some form of recovery/resistance to passive damage would look like. Diancie sorta covers this with its Rock-typing blocking damage from Sandstorm, but there's way more forms of passive damage out there that could be worth looking into. Having beefed-up defenses isn't as impressive if utility mons can just shut you down with status/hazards/other chip.
There's a lot of ways to go honestly, it's a good damaging move so offensively-inclined roles will like it, but the +2 Defense chance could mean a lot for slower builds as well. Anything in the realms of offensive-utility appreciates a move that deals good damage and aids in protecting the user from harm.What sorts of roles does Diamond Storm lend itself to at first glance? Does anything stick out especially as to how we should make use of this move?
If you've ever heard me talk about the Rock typing you know I think it's really underwhelming, moreso on the physical side: the most common physical moves, Rock Slide and Stone Edge, are very hit-or-miss in terms of damage output and reliability. Diamond Storm is unique in its good power and respectable (but not perfect) accuracy, and having a more noticeable secondary effect than Stone Edge's increased crit chance. I feel it manages to strike all three categories you listed. Physical Rock-type moves aren't really present in the metagame outside of a few potential moveslots on mons that already have a ton of strong options (Lando, Chomp), it's one of the more powerful moves and doesn't have any harsh downsides, and the secondary effect has a lot of potential depth we can explore in terms of how it impacts our match-ups or what we can do with the chance for added bulk.What, if anything, is particularly unique about Diamond Storm? What is so defining about the move- is it the power, the typing, the secondary effect? How unique can this move be?
Back in Gens 6-7 Mega Diancie really liked having Diamond Storm, it was a strong move coming off its huge Attack stat that could suddenly turn a negative matchup on its head: the classic being getting a +2 Defense boost and no longer being as threatened by Landorus-T. It having high Attacking stats also meant that Diamond Storm was comparable to Power Gem in terms of damage output (on equally-invested targets), meaning it was one of the rare mixed attackers in the metagame.How does Diancie use this move in this or past metas? What was can we expand or differentiate from this usage?
Nowadays Diancie can use it on tankier builds to fish for Defense procs and make itself harder to KO, useful for gaining an edge against certain mons it might be tasked with taking on, and as a means of powering up Body Press which it has the option of running.
I'd say the most obvious route we could take is what Diamond Storm + some form of recovery/resistance to passive damage would look like. Diancie sorta covers this with its Rock-typing blocking damage from Sandstorm, but there's way more forms of passive damage out there that could be worth looking into. Having beefed-up defenses isn't as impressive if utility mons can just shut you down with status/hazards/other chip.