CAP Buff 1 - Part 3 - Voodoom Buff Discussion

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Speaking in a Moderator Capacity:
Yo, so when setting up the buff process, we sorta decided move additions > stat changes > ability changes > typing changes. While typing changes are very technically within the scope of this process, practically I don't want them to be our first, second, nor much but our last resort. Lets not cover them for now. TY
 
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I would like to suggest adding Sludge Bomb and/or Sludge Wave to Voodoom's movepool. We have determined that lack of power and reliability is the main thing holding it back, so Sludge Wave is a pretty cheap but at the same time effective way to address this from a coverage perspective.

252 SpA Life Orb Voodoom Sludge Wave vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Clefable: 179-213 (45.4 - 54%)
252 SpA Life Orb Voodoom Flash Cannon vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Clefable: 151-179 (38.3 - 45.4%)

252 SpA Life Orb Voodoom Sludge Wave vs. 252 HP / 64 SpD Tapu Fini: 177-211 (51.4 - 61.3%)

252 SpA Life Orb Voodoom Sludge Wave vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Jumbao: 452-536 (139 - 164.9%)
252 SpA Life Orb Voodoom Flash Cannon vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Jumbao: 190-226 (58.4 - 69.5%)

Of course Sludge Wave alone is not enough to salvage Voodoom, but it will definitely help a lot no matter what route we take. Other movepool additions I'd like to suggest are Volt Switch, to turn Voodoom into a pivot, and Thunder if we decide to give it No Guard as an ability. Overall I would say that since Voodoom is so bad, and has been for a long time, we can afford to be a bit more liberal with buffs that we normally would.
 
I don't think Poison actually does anything for us here. Voodoom can currently run a set of Fight/Dark/Steel/Electric. The only things that Sludge Wave hits that Flash Cannon or a different useful move don't are Rillaboom (neutral to our STAB, SE from poison) and Tapu Koko (resists 3/4 of our moves, neutral to steel.) We aren't gaining much, as most of the relevant Grass types are already weak to our STAB (Ferrothorn, Necturna, Kartana,) and many of the Fairies that we can hit are covered by Steel or Electric coverage (Tapu Fini, Clefable, pretty much everyone but Tapu Koko and Kerfluffle, the latter of which resists Poison.)

I do think that the Thunder/No Guard route is a viable path to look into instead. It also buffs our Focus Blast at the cost of making us weaker to Hurricane. If we do go that path, we would probably need another buff alongside it.
 
I think now we should be good to officially open up buff submissions O_>0

Here's how it will work: when submitting your buffs, classify them as either major or minor. As Buff Leader, I will use discretion when organizing the slate if I think a proposed buff should have its category changed.

Remember too to refer to quziel's post about what you should be aiming to submit here. This is in specific reference to typing, which, while technically within the scope of our buff process to be edited, should be preserved except in the most outstanding of cases.

The goal is to have a proposed slate done by the end of Thursday May 6th, so that gives you all around 80 or so hours to make your posts. Remember to mark official submissions as WIP until they are complete. Happy posting, excited to see what you guys propose :)
 
Final Submission

Move Changes: +Thunder
Stat Changes: +12 SpA -> 117 SpA
Ability Changes: Replace Volt Absorb with No Guard
Type Changes: None

Major Buffs: No Guard, Thunder
Minor Buffs: +12 SpA

This buff is angled more towards Choice Specs sets, but I'm sure it would have a strong impact on NP sets as well. The given Special Attack allows Voodoom to reach 2HKOs on Zapdos and 184 Jolly Astrolotl, denying those mons as consistent switch ins to Voodoom. Furthermore, it allows specs Focus Blast to always OHKO Equilibra, something that was a roll prior. Finally, the SpA greatly eases the matchup into Tomohawk, giving it a roll to 2HKO with Focus Blast rocks up. No Guard is applied to allow for consistent Focus Blasts, letting Voodoom be overall a much better breaker, while giving it consistent Thunder for Tomohawk and Tapu Fini.

252 SpA Choice Specs Voodoom Focus Blast vs. 252 HP / 128 SpD Equilibra: 422-500 (103.4 - 122.5%) -- guaranteed OHKO

252 SpA Choice Specs Voodoom Dark Pulse vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Zapdos: 199-235 (51.9 - 61.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252 SpA Choice Specs Voodoom Dark Pulse vs. 72 HP / 252 SpD Astrolotl: 189-223 (50.4 - 59.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252 SpA Choice Specs Voodoom Focus Blast vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Tomohawk: 163-192 (39.3 - 46.3%) -- 29.7% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock

252 SpA Choice Specs Voodoom Thunder vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Tomohawk: 400-472 (96.6 - 114%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock

252 SpA Choice Specs Voodoom Thunder vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Tapu Fini: 266-314 (77.3 - 91.2%) -- 25% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock

252 SpA Choice Specs Voodoom Thunder vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Clefable: 181-214 (45.9 - 54.3%) -- 5.9% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
 
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Yo, voodoom has a few unique things, being 1) Stab priority of the special nature which is literally just it and Lucario, 2) Infinite Coverage, 3) Its a dark type in pult meta

Its issues are that 1) STAB Focus Blast is really bad because you will miss stuff, and thus you often have to click Dark Pulse in neutral situations which drastically lowers your actual damage output, 2) Its power with coverage moves is just a bit too low, 3) Its Vacuum Wave does little damage.

I am proposing the following as ways to possibly fix this:
------
Major

Technician:

This specifically targets Vacuum Wave, making it actually strong enough to deal with weakened targets. Notably this lets you revenge kill Zeraora at 50% with a Life Orb, while also dealing 58 to 68% to Cawmodore, which is a good roll to KO it after a Drum+Sitrus+SR. There's also some very fun stuff with Snarl letting you have a super safe move to click vs switchins (the SpA drop cushions any switchins which is very helpful). This is a buff that would give it a fairly unique playstyle among special attackers as one of the few that actually carries priority.

Charge Beam
This is a buff that would only go with Technician, but Tech would make it actually reliable damage, eg able to 2HKO without a boost.
​
Mega Launcher:
One of Voodoom's biggest issues currently is that it has to use Focus Blast to actually get KOs, which only happens about 70% of the time, which as noted, really lowers its neutral damage, as you can't really afford to click Focus Blast that often on forced switches out of risk of doing 0 damage. Mega Lawn Chair buffs Aura Sphere up to equivalent damage to Focus Blast, gives a load of damage to Dark Pulse, notably letting you actually 2hko it after 2 regen cycles (75%-89%), guaranteeing a 2HKO on defensive Landorus-Therian and Tornadus-Therian, which is enough that this mon is an actual offensive threat.

Minor:
+20 SpD
This lets you live one Draco from Specs Pult.
 
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Final Submission (is there an official final sub format i am missing?)

Buff Overview:
Move Changes: +Thunder, +Trick
Stat Changes: +5 Attack (85 to 90), +5 Special Attack (105 to 110), +10 Speed (110 to 120)
Ability Changes: Replace Volt Absorb or Lightning Rod with No Guard
Type Changes: None

MAJOR:
+10 Speed - Gives Voodoom an edge over Kerfluffle, Astrolotl, and Cawmodore, while staying under Tornadus-t. I think having Tornadus-t in the position that it cannot safely come in vs Voodoom without slow pivoting, but it can still threaten Voodoom out will help balanced out some of my other changes.

+No Guard - Addresses the issue of power by making Focus Blast a more reliable play and opening the door for my next buff. I am for replacing Lightning Rod over Volt Absorb since it is one of the few ways Voodoom can mitigate Life Orb recoil and increase its survivability, and Volt Absorb was the OG competitive ability anyways. I think this is best left to the discretion of the Buff Leader.

+Thunder - Gives Voodoom a stronger middle ground play since it can fish for para and has decent neutral coverage; also helps secure those 2HKOs on Tapu Fini, Arghonaut, and Toxapex a little bit better, as well as threatening Tornadus-t harder against coming in.

+Trick - A disruptive tool that directly supports Voodoom's primary role as a wallbreaker. This move is a strong option for the Choice Specs set that would sacrifice coverage for a more generally useful tool against defensive teams that tends to be less reliant on prediction.

MINOR:
+5 Attack/+5 Special Attack - a very slight boost in power to better enable mixed sets and smooth out some 2HKOs and OHKOs on the Life Orb sets, particularly Focus Blast against Rillaboom and Heatran. The slight boost in Attack from base 85 to 90 means Naive/Hasty 4 Attack EVs LO Voodoom always OHKOs Dragapult with Knock Off while doing 75%+ to Slowking

I will flesh out this post more later with calcs and stuff I promise
edit: I lied whoops
 
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WIP

Buff Overview:
Move Changes: + Thunder (Minor)
Stat Changes: -10 SpA (Major)
Ability Changes: Replace Cursed Body with Sheer Force (Major)
Type Changes: None

So this is a bit of a potentially controversial one. As we have discussed, Sheer Force is an incredibly powerful ability for Voodoom, in effect boosting every single one of its major moves in Dark Pulse, Focus Blast, Thunderbolt and Flash Cannon. This addition would allow for Voodoom to be a potent and devastating wall breaker on the special side, while simultaneously improving its longevity by mitigating Life Orb recoil. While Focus Blast's accuracy problems remain, it's power should make the move feel slightly safer to click.
To compensate for the power increase, 10 points of SpAtk have been removed, which makes it so that its attacks are only roughly 21% more powerful than they were prior as opposed to the full 30%. Additionally, if Voodoom has its Life Orb knocked off, it means that its attacks are only slightly below where they were before the buff. While this does not go a long way to solving every single one of Voodoom's problems, I believe it is an effective way to carve Voodoom out a niche as an offensive wallbreaker, effectively being able to consistently 2HKO most slow, defensive Pokemon, as compared to now where it can mostly only 3HKO at best.
I have also separately proposed Thunder as a minor move pool addition as a tech option that would allow for KOs against Tomohawk 70% of the time.
 
Final Submission

Major
Ability Changes: Replace Cursed Body with No Guard

(Reformatted as per quziel's modpost)

I was thinking about boosting abilities but I can't stop coming back to No Guard Focus Blast. It's such an obvious but effective combo that's never fully been realized before. Cursed Body was replaced as A) Lightning Rod and Volt Absorb do very similar things as Electric Immunities so I don't feel like we necessarily have "three" competitive abilities, and B) I hate Cursed Body.

Minor
Stat Changes: +5 Speed, +10 Special Attack, +10 Special Defense
Movepool additions: +Thunder

115 Speed lets you outspeed everything relevant up to Hawlucha/Cawmodore. It's a great Speed tier as it beats Astro and no longer worries about ties with any stray Latis/Gengars.

115 Special Attack is a nice boost to compliment other changes: as No Guard doesn't add additional power but rather opens the door for stronger attacks to be more reliable, moves like Dark Pulse and Flash Cannon get left behind; not to mention how Focus Blast alone may not always do the job as it stands.

Thunder is a powerful coverage move which benefits greatly from our No Guard ability, and can be a good neutral move thanks to its 30% Paralysis chance.

Despite a Dark typing we'd have to do some crazy stuff to really stand a chance against Dragapult. Specs Pult is pretty much going to straight nuke us with Draco and since we don't outspeed we're at most going to trade with it before dying to something else. The +10 SpDef helps more in the Hex Pult matchup, we live a Wisp/Hex into Draco even with Rocks up. If Rocks aren't up than Wisp/Hex into Draco should leave us with enough HP to survive a round of Life Orb recoil. Also lets you not die as horribly to uninvested Torn-T Hurricane, if you're lucky you can live Rocks + Hurricane.

After a Nasty Plot Voodoom is very threatening and hard to safely switch into. The challenge of course is being able to safely boost up, and the amount of Pokemon which can still ruin your day is quite high. You're likely going to have to sack something versus +2 Voodoom but hey that's nothing new for letting set-up based breakers have their way, and there's still the threat of being RK'd by faster Pokemon or just CB Rillaboom.

Base Stats: 90 HP, 85 Atk, 80 Def, 115 SpA, 90 SpD, 115 Spe | 570 BST
 
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A quick question, are we going to deciding which ability gets removed separately from which gets added? For example, I like the idea behind No Guard, but it seems to me that the decision between which ability gets removed depends on who gets voted on between Dex18 (Volt Absorb,) Brambane (Lightning Rod.) I would hope that the voting stage decides on these removals independently from the other additions that are offered by these three WIPs, such as dex18's simple stat buff vs. Brambane's mixed and speed buffs, as the choice to keep Lightning Rod over Volt Absorb is something that will influence my decision between these two. Then there's shnowshner's choice to replace Cursed Body instead, electing to keep the two electric immunities alongside some pretty substantial stat changes.

Another question targeted toward quziel , is your proposal both Technician and Mega Launcher, or just one of the two? I ask because I am really like the sound of Mega Launcher, but don't think that Technician is going to be helping Voodoom significantly. The hard hitting Vacuum Wave is a unique effect, and the utility partner with Charge Beam and Snarl sounds like it could be fun, but I think that will make Voodoom about as effective of a technician user as Arghonaut (has two STAB priority moves, would rather run Unaware,) Stratagem (is really really fast, would rather run Levitate,) or Smokomodo (doesn't have a second choice, so it just doesn't get used.) I think in this case, Voodoom would much rather run Mega Launcher or an Electric Immunity, even if it doesn't help it with Zapdos/Zeraora/Koko specifically.

-----------------------

Final Submission
Major Ability Change - Mega Launcher - Preferably replaces Volt Absorb.
Major Movepool Addition - With Mega Launcher Only - Terrain Pulse - An extra option to partner with the other pulses. When paired with a Tapu, its theoretically a Boomburst that hits things SE. Scary with exactly Mega Launcher, so I would say its Major.

Major Movepool Addition - Volt Switch - Pivoting move, same type as existing coverage.

Minor Movepool Addition - Discharge - I wouldn't consider this major, but opens up some status spreading potential at the cost of power.

Minor Stats Change -+1 Speed - Just to remove the speedties in Latias/Gengar/Kitsunoh that can reliably OHKO it.

Voodoom was originally designed as a partner, and while its not reasonable to continue trying to make it a partner, the core idea that it was designed to help with threats that an arbitrary Flying-Type or Fairy-Type partner rather than specifically Togekiss is one that I think is the safest way to retain that while still allowing Voodoom to fight. A piece that can pivot in, threaten someone out with the threat of a boosted move, and/or can pivot out if need be. This can form a rather nice offensive pivot that benefits from being alongside most noteably Tapu Fini who makes poison switches safe for Voodoom due to the lack of poison, but also others such as Jumbao vs Poison types, Tapu Lele vs Ghost Types, and Tomohawk vs Psychics. Others benefit from Voodoom's newfound threat as well, as Pokemon like Colossoil or Pajantom are forced into a very uncomfortable position. Voodoom on the live servers doesn't significantly threaten them as they can tank a STAB and OHKO back, but Mega Launcher forces them to think about how to approach Voodoom, adding some interesting mind games when it comes to who is switching out, or if they can switch out. The biggest hitters in Dragapult and Excadrill, who Volt Switch won't work on, are still forced to decide if they should go for that lethal Dragon or Ground type move to take out Voodoom, or to play safe around the Voodoom who also has the coice to hard switch to their partner with the immunity against the now disadvantaged threat. And Voodoom is now only a threat because with Mega Launcher, it *can* now take out these big scary monsters, as well as providing powerful pressure against whoever switches in with its two boosted STABs and LO.

Overall, giving Voodoom Mega Launcher makes it actually a threat rather than just a dummy to get beaten up, while Volt Switch gives it the option to abuse its speed and pivot out to someone that can exploit the matchup. Discharge/Terrain Pulse/+1 Speed are just nice additions that expand Voodoom's possibilities for use and placement in teams,
 
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Final submission

Buff Overview
Move Changes: None
Stat Changes: +10 speed
Ability Changes: Replace Volt Absorb with Magic Guard (Major)
Type Changes: None
Major:
+10 speed : As discussed earlier , this allows you to outspeed everything upto kerfluffle ( cawm , astro , latis , barraskewda out of rain ) , while still keeping torn as a reliable check offensively. This buff would make it easier for voodoom to set up versus teams without dedicated speed control and gives nasty plot sets more security in general.

Magic Guard : Dealing with both big points together since they are inter-related. Magic Guard is meant to give the Life Orb less opportunity cost, as a major issue with Life Orb Voodoom right now is that the Voodoom user is punished heavily for making mispredicts, atleast relative to other Life Orb users in the metagame, and Voodoom's paltry damage output doesn't really reward the user enough to make up for it. These buffs would help in incentivizing the Life Orb and making the most out of Voodoom's solid speed tier. In conjunction with life orb , all its attacking moves gain an immediate buff (as seen in calcs below), while also not taking recoil. This helps in voodoom being a more immediate threat due to not the best bulk / defensive typing and prevents it from taking big damage while setting up. Immunity to hazards with a good speed tier certainly will elevate its role as a wallbreaker.

Although these buffs may seem really good at first glance, it's important to note that Voodoom runs into the problem of 4MSS, due to the fact that Nasty Plot sets can only run two coverage moves. This keeps Voodoom in check in my opinion, as answers to 2 move coverage Voodoom are fairly common in the current metagame and wouldn't really restrict the builder

calcs aim to show that requirements for "optimal damage output" is achieved by life orb and no other power boosting ability / moves are required
going to be posting the calcs with and without life orb for more accurate comparison / judgement
more important ones in red
Arghonaut :arghonaut:
252 SpA Voodoom Thunderbolt vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Arghonaut: 170-200 (41 - 48.3%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
vs
252 SpA Life Orb Voodoom Thunderbolt vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Arghonaut: 221-260 (53.3 - 62.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

If voodoom chooses to not run electric coverage :
252 SpA Voodoom Aura Sphere vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Arghonaut: 112-133 (27 - 32.1%) -- 54.9% chance to 4HKO after Leftovers recovery
vs
252 SpA Life Orb Voodoom Aura Sphere vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Arghonaut: 146-173 (35.2 - 41.7%) -- 83.3% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery

252 SpA Voodoom Focus Blast vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Arghonaut: 169-199 (40.8 - 48%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
vs
252 SpA Life Orb Voodoom Focus Blast vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Arghonaut: 220-259 (53.1 - 62.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

Clefable :clefable:
252 SpA Voodoom Flash Cannon vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Clefable: 164-194 (41.6 - 49.2%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
vs
252 SpA Life Orb Voodoom Flash Cannon vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Clefable: 213-252 (54 - 63.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

+2 252 SpA Voodoom Flash Cannon vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Clefable: 232-274 (58.8 - 69.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
vs
+2 252 SpA Life Orb Voodoom Flash Cannon vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Clefable: 302-356 (76.6 - 90.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

Corviknight :corviknight:
252 SpA Voodoom Dark Pulse vs. 252 HP / 88 SpD Corviknight: 118-139 (29.5 - 34.7%) -- 99.9% chance to 4HKO after Leftovers recovery
vs
252 SpA Life Orb Voodoom Dark Pulse vs. 252 HP / 88 SpD Corviknight: 153-181 (38.2 - 45.2%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery

252 SpA Voodoom Thunderbolt vs. 252 HP / 88 SpD Corviknight: 176-208 (44 - 52%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
vs
252 SpA Life Orb Voodoom Thunderbolt vs. 252 HP / 88 SpD Corviknight: 229-270 (57.2 - 67.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

+2 252 SpA Voodoom Thunderbolt vs. 252 HP / 88 SpD Corviknight: 350-412 (87.5 - 103%) -- 18.8% chance to OHKO
vs
+2 252 SpA Life Orb Voodoom Thunderbolt vs. 252 HP / 88 SpD Corviknight: 455-536 (113.7 - 134%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Hippowdon :hippowdon:
252 SpA Voodoom Dark Pulse vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Hippowdon: 100-118 (23.8 - 28%) -- 90.7% chance to 4HKO
vs
252 SpA Life Orb Voodoom Dark Pulse vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Hippowdon: 130-153 (30.9 - 36.4%) -- 62.8% chance to 3HKO

+2 252 SpA Voodoom Dark Pulse vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Hippowdon: 199-235 (47.3 - 55.9%) -- 80.9% chance to 2HKO
vs
+2 252 SpA Life Orb Voodoom Dark Pulse vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Hippowdon: 259-305 (61.6 - 72.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Tapu fini :tapu fini:
252 SpA Voodoom Thunderbolt vs. 252 HP / 64 SpD Tapu Fini: 128-152 (37.2 - 44.1%) -- 100% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
vs
252 SpA Life Orb Voodoom Thunderbolt vs. 252 HP / 64 SpD Tapu Fini: 166-198 (48.2 - 57.5%) -- 43.4% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
(guaranteed after rocks)

+2 252 SpA Voodoom Thunderbolt vs. 252 HP / 64 SpD Tapu Fini: 256-302 (74.4 - 87.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
vs
+2 252 SpA Life Orb Voodoom Thunderbolt vs. 252 HP / 64 SpD Tapu Fini: 333-393 (96.8 - 114.2%) -- 75% chance to OHKO

Toxapex :toxapex:
252 SpA Voodoom Thunderbolt vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Toxapex: 124-148 (40.7 - 48.6%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
vs
252 SpA Life Orb Voodoom Thunderbolt vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Toxapex: 161-192 (52.9 - 63.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

+2 252 SpA Voodoom Thunderbolt vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Toxapex: 248-294 (81.5 - 96.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
vs
+2 252 SpA Life Orb Voodoom Thunderbolt vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Toxapex: 322-382 (105.9 - 125.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO

252 SpA Voodoom Thunderbolt vs. 252 HP / 112 SpD Toxapex: 116-138 (38.1 - 45.3%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Black Sludge recovery
vs
252 SpA Life Orb Voodoom Thunderbolt vs. 252 HP / 112 SpD Toxapex: 151-179 (49.6 - 58.8%) -- 69.9% chance to 2HKO after Black Sludge recovery

Zapdos :zapdos:
252 SpA Voodoom Dark Pulse vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Zapdos: 124-147 (32.3 - 38.3%) -- 97.9% chance to 3HKO
vs
252 SpA Life Orb Voodoom Dark Pulse vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Zapdos: 161-191 (42 - 49.8%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

+2 252 SpA Voodoom Dark Pulse vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Zapdos: 246-291 (64.2 - 75.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
vs
+2 252 SpA Life Orb Voodoom Dark Pulse vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Zapdos: 320-378 (83.5 - 98.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Blissey :blissey:
252 SpA Voodoom Focus Blast vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Blissey: 260-308 (36.4 - 43.1%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
vs
252 SpA Life Orb Voodoom Focus Blast vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Blissey: 338-400 (47.3 - 56%) -- 78.5% chance to 2HKO

+2 252 SpA Voodoom Focus Blast vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Blissey: 518-612 (72.5 - 85.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
vs
+2 252 SpA Life Orb Voodoom Focus Blast vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Blissey: 673-795 (94.2 - 111.3%) -- 62.5% chance to OHKO

Ferrothorn :ferrothorn:
252 SpA Voodoom Aura Sphere vs. 252 HP / 176+ SpD Ferrothorn: 156-186 (44.3 - 52.8%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
vs
252 SpA Life Orb Voodoom Aura Sphere vs. 252 HP / 176+ SpD Ferrothorn: 203-242 (57.6 - 68.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

252 SpA Voodoom Focus Blast vs. 252 HP / 176+ SpD Ferrothorn: 234-276 (66.4 - 78.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
vs
252 SpA Life Orb Voodoom Focus Blast vs. 252 HP / 176+ SpD Ferrothorn: 304-359 (86.3 - 101.9%) -- 12.5% chance to OHKO

Heatran :heatran:
252 SpA Voodoom Aura Sphere vs. 252 HP / 128+ SpD Heatran: 174-206 (45 - 53.3%) -- 1.2% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
vs
252 SpA Life Orb Voodoom Aura Sphere vs. 252 HP / 128+ SpD Heatran: 226-268 (58.5 - 69.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

252 SpA Voodoom Focus Blast vs. 252 HP / 128+ SpD Heatran: 260-308 (67.3 - 79.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
vs
252 SpA Life Orb Voodoom Focus Blast vs. 252 HP / 128+ SpD Heatran: 338-400 (87.5 - 103.6%) -- 18.8% chance to OHKO
(guaranteed after rocks)

Gastrodon :gastrodon:
+2 252 SpA Voodoom Focus Blast vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Gastrodon: 396-466 (92.9 - 109.3%) -- 56.3% chance to OHKO
vs
+2 252 SpA Life Orb Voodoom Focus Blast vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Gastrodon: 515-606 (120.8 - 142.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO

252 SpA Voodoom Dark Pulse vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Gastrodon: 133-157 (31.2 - 36.8%) -- 73.5% chance to 3HKO
vs
252 SpA Life Orb Voodoom Dark Pulse vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Gastrodon: 173-204 (40.6 - 47.8%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

Slowking :slowking:
252 SpA Voodoom Dark Pulse vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Slowking: 152-182 (38.5 - 46.1%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
vs
252 SpA Life Orb Voodoom Dark Pulse vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Slowking: 198-237 (50.2 - 60.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

+2 252 SpA Voodoom Dark Pulse vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Slowking: 306-360 (77.6 - 91.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
vs
+2 252 SpA Life Orb Voodoom Dark Pulse vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Slowking: 398-468 (101 - 118.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Slowking-galar :slowking galar:
252 SpA Voodoom Dark Pulse vs. 252 HP / 80+ SpD Assault Vest Slowking-Galar: 116-140 (29.4 - 35.5%) -- 90.8% chance to 3HKO
vs
252 SpA Life Orb Voodoom Dark Pulse vs. 252 HP / 80+ SpD Assault Vest Slowking-Galar: 151-182 (38.3 - 46.1%) -- guaranteed 3HKO

+2 252 SpA Voodoom Dark Pulse vs. 252 HP / 80+ SpD Assault Vest Slowking-Galar: 236-278 (59.8 - 70.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
vs
+2 252 SpA Life Orb Voodoom Dark Pulse vs. 252 HP / 80+ SpD Assault Vest Slowking-Galar: 307-361 (77.9 - 91.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Mandibuzz :mandibuzz:
252 SpA Voodoom Thunderbolt vs. 248 HP / 144 SpD Mandibuzz: 154-182 (36.4 - 43%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
vs
252 SpA Life Orb Voodoom Thunderbolt vs. 248 HP / 144 SpD Mandibuzz: 200-237 (47.2 - 56%) -- 77.3% chance to 2HKO

+2 252 SpA Voodoom Thunderbolt vs. 248 HP / 144 SpD Mandibuzz: 306-360 (72.3 - 85.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
vs
+2 252 SpA Life Orb Voodoom Thunderbolt vs. 248 HP / 144 SpD Mandibuzz: 398-468 (94 - 110.6%) -- 62.5% chance to OHKO
(Note : focus blast and thunderbolt do effectively the same damage)

Swampert :swampert:
252 SpA Voodoom Dark Pulse vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Swampert: 87-103 (21.5 - 25.4%) -- possible 5HKO after Leftovers recovery
vs
252 SpA Life Orb Voodoom Dark Pulse vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Swampert: 113-134 (27.9 - 33.1%) -- 87% chance to 4HKO after Leftovers recovery

+2 252 SpA Voodoom Dark Pulse vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Swampert: 174-205 (43 - 50.7%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
vs
+2 252 SpA Life Orb Voodoom Dark Pulse vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Swampert: 226-266 (55.9 - 65.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

Amoonguss :amoonguss:
252 SpA Voodoom Dark Pulse vs. 248 HP / 92 SpD Amoonguss: 121-144 (28 - 33.4%) -- 93.8% chance to 4HKO after Black Sludge recovery
vs
252 SpA Life Orb Voodoom Dark Pulse vs. 248 HP / 92 SpD Amoonguss: 157-187 (36.4 - 43.3%) -- 98.7% chance to 3HKO after Black Sludge recovery

+2 252 SpA Voodoom Dark Pulse vs. 248 HP / 92 SpD Amoonguss: 243-286 (56.3 - 66.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Black Sludge recovery
vs
+2 252 SpA Life Orb Voodoom Dark Pulse vs. 248 HP / 92 SpD Amoonguss: 316-372 (73.3 - 86.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Black Sludge recovery

Landorus-Therian :landorus therian:
252 SpA Voodoom Dark Pulse vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Landorus-Therian: 135-160 (35.3 - 41.8%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
vs
252 SpA Life Orb Voodoom Dark Pulse vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Landorus-Therian: 175-208 (45.8 - 54.4%) -- 55.9% chance to 2HKO
(guaranteed after rocks)

+2 252 SpA Voodoom Dark Pulse vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Landorus-Therian: 271-319 (70.9 - 83.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
vs
+2 252 SpA Life Orb Voodoom Dark Pulse vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Landorus-Therian: 352-415 (92.1 - 108.6%) -- 50% chance to OHKO
(guaranteed after rocks)

Astrolotl :astrolotl:
+2 252 SpA Voodoom Dark Pulse vs. 72 HP / 252 SpD Astrolotl: 234-276 (62.4 - 73.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
vs
+2 252 SpA Life Orb Voodoom Dark Pulse vs. 72 HP / 252 SpD Astrolotl: 304-359 (81 - 95.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

+2 252 SpA Voodoom Focus Blast vs. 72 HP / 252 SpD Astrolotl: 351-414 (93.6 - 110.4%) -- 62.5% chance to OHKO
vs
+2 252 SpA Life Orb Voodoom Focus Blast vs. 72 HP / 252 SpD Astrolotl: 456-538 (121.6 - 143.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Equilibra :equilibra:
252 SpA Voodoom Aura Sphere vs. 252 HP / 128 SpD Equilibra: 176-210 (43.1 - 51.4%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
vs
252 SpA Life Orb Voodoom Aura Sphere vs. 252 HP / 128 SpD Equilibra: 229-273 (56.1 - 66.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

+2 252 SpA Voodoom Aura Sphere vs. 252 HP / 128 SpD Equilibra: 350-414 (85.7 - 101.4%) -- 12.5% chance to OHKO
vs
+2 252 SpA Life Orb Voodoom Aura Sphere vs. 252 HP / 128 SpD Equilibra: 455-538 (111.5 - 131.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO
Torn-T :tornadus therian:
+2 252 SpA Voodoom Dark Pulse vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Tornadus-Therian: 246-291 (67.9 - 80.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
vs
+2 252 SpA Life Orb Voodoom Dark Pulse vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Tornadus-Therian: 320-378 (88.3 - 104.4%) -- 31.3% chance to OHKO
Torn-T will remain as the best answer to voodoom both offensively and defensively.

Jumbao :jumbao:
252 SpA Voodoom Flash Cannon vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Jumbao: 146-172 (44.9 - 52.9%) -- 23.8% chance to 2HKO
vs
252 SpA Life Orb Voodoom Flash Cannon vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Jumbao: 190-224 (58.4 - 68.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

+2 252 SpA Voodoom Flash Cannon vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Jumbao: 290-342 (89.2 - 105.2%) -- 31.3% chance to OHKO
vs
+2 252 SpA Life Orb Voodoom Flash Cannon vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Jumbao: 377-445 (116 - 136.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Tapu koko :tapu koko:
252 SpA Voodoom Flash Cannon vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Tapu Koko: 96-113 (34.1 - 40.2%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
vs
252 SpA Life Orb Voodoom Flash Cannon vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Tapu Koko: 125-147 (44.4 - 52.3%) -- 16.4% chance to 2HKO
again needs to heal before it can safely come in on voodoom the next time

Rillaboom :rillaboom:
252 SpA Voodoom Dark Pulse vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Rillaboom: 151-178 (44.2 - 52.1%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Grassy Terrain recovery
vs
252 SpA Life Orb Voodoom Dark Pulse vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Rillaboom: 196-231 (57.4 - 67.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Grassy Terrain recovery

Zeraora :zeraora:
252 SpA Voodoom Dark Pulse vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Zeraora: 135-160 (42.5 - 50.4%) -- 1.2% chance to 2HKO
vs
252 SpA Life Orb Voodoom Dark Pulse vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Zeraora: 175-208 (55.2 - 65.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

Tapu lele :tapu lele:
+2 252 SpA Voodoom Dark Pulse vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Tapu Lele: 199-235 (70.8 - 83.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
vs
+2 252 SpA Life Orb Voodoom Dark Pulse vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Tapu Lele: 259-305 (92.1 - 108.5%) -- 56.3% chance to OHKO
(guaranteed after rocks)

+2 252 SpA Voodoom Flash Cannon vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Tapu Lele: 266-314 (94.6 - 111.7%) -- 68.8% chance to OHKO
vs
+2 252 SpA Life Orb Voodoom Flash Cannon vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Tapu Lele: 346-408 (123.1 - 145.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO

Note: All secondary sets for the pokemon listed in the calcs are listed under the "other options" section of their anaylsis.
Aura sphere has taken preference to focus blast in the calcs unless the extra bp provides a big change in the outcoming.

thank you to Zephyri for helping me write this
 
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Final Submission

Buff Overview

Major Buffs: -Volt Absorb/Lighting Rod, +Adaptability, +Volt Switch
Minor Buffs: +8 SpA
I think the root issue behind Voodoom's lack of success rn is how easily it's punished. It has a mediocre unboosted damage output, and its main method of boosting damage (Life Orb and Nasty Plot) punish it every time it mispredicts and leave it very open to being forced out respectively. I think the main thing that Voodoom wants right now is an unpunishable, immediate damage output. Which is why I'm proposing 113 SpA Adaptability Voodoom.

Adaptability, alongside a SpA boost, provides Voodoom with a decent unboosted and unpunishable damage output which I think is crucial for a viable offensive Pokemon in the metagame. Some relevant calcs where these boosts make a legitimate difference:

252 SpA Adaptability Voodoom Dark Pulse vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Landorus-Therian: 192-226 (50.2 - 59.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252 SpA Adaptability Voodoom Focus Blast vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Blissey: 364-432 (50.9 - 60.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252 SpA Adaptability Voodoom Focus Blast vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Arghonaut: 238-280 (57.4 - 67.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

252 SpA Adaptability Voodoom Aura Sphere vs. 252 HP / 88 SpD Corviknight: 164-194 (41 - 48.5%) -- 74.2% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock

252 SpA Adaptability Voodoom Focus Blast vs. 252 HP / 88 SpD Corviknight: 246-290 (61.5 - 72.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

252 SpA Adaptability Voodoom Focus Blast vs. 252 HP / 128+ SpD Heatran: 364-432 (94.3 - 111.9%) -- 68.8% chance to OHKO

252 SpA Adaptability Voodoom Focus Blast vs. 252 HP / 132 SpD Equilibra: 368-436 (90.1 - 106.8%) -- 43.8% chance to OHKO

(Dark Pulse->Aura Sphere vs Heatran)
252 SpA Adaptability Voodoom Dark Pulse vs. 252 HP / 128+ SpD Heatran: 122-144 (31.6 - 37.3%) -- guaranteed 4HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Adaptability Voodoom Aura Sphere vs. 252 HP / 128+ SpD Heatran: 244-288 (63.2 - 74.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

Basically, Adaptability gives Voodoom a ton of 2HKOs and a few OHKOs against bulky switchins that it wouldn't really have otherwise, reduces its reliance on the Life Orb, makes Nasty Plot sets a lot more scary due to the fact that they have more OHKO potential, and doesn't punish the Voodoom user nearly as much. However, Voodoom is still super reliant on prediction and is forced out easily, which is why I'm also proposing Volt Switch.

Volt Switch acts as a decent midground for Voodoom, threatens switchins like Tornadus-T, Corviknight, and Tomohawk, reduces Voodoom's problem with getting offensively pressured very easily, and means that Voodoom isn't a momentum drain in matchups where it can't get an OHKO. Furthermore, it makes Voodoom less greedy on teams and gives it offensive utility and a more clear cut role.

I think I've made basically all of my arguments for this buff but tl;dr: Voodoom is easily punished, give it damage output that's unpunishable and make it so it has more options for midground low-risk plays and doesnt have to take the risk of automatically draining all momentum after a single mispredict.
 
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Buffs
Major
-Volt Absorb, +Adaptability

Minor
+15 Atk, +10 SpA
+Sludge Bomb, +Sucker Punch

I think something that Voodoom could take advantage of that no current Pokémon has the facilities to is be a viable fast mixed wallbreaker in the current metagame. 4 Attacks Voodoom has been suggested plenty of times as a consistent breaker, but having weak coverage options and unreliable STAB options to abuse. Instead of cranking up its coverage, I wanted to lean more into it's STAB moves, with these buffs Close Combat becomes a stellar option for 4 Attacks, and giving Sucker Punch allows Voodoom to be able to actually threaten a Dragapult. Sludge Bomb is important as a mid ground option between Thunderbolt and Flash Cannon, allowing Voodoom a way to hit all of Tomohawk, Arghonaut and Fairies for at least neutral damage + that useful poison chance (and for super effective damage on Fairies, it's best checks), as the Pokémon Urshifu has proven, Dark x Fighting x Poison coverage is amazing in the metagame. Thunderbolt is still a viable option to be used if Tomohawk and or Arghonaut prove to be more troublesome for your team. By proxy, Nasty Plot is still buffed due to our additions and altercations, but it is definitely the secondary set.

4 Atk Life Orb Adaptability Voodoom Sucker Punch vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Dragapult: 333-395 (105 - 124.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO

252 SpA Life Orb Adaptability Voodoom Dark Pulse vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Clefable: 113-134 (28.6 - 34%) -- 98.6% chance to 4HKO after Leftovers recovery

252 SpA Life Orb Voodoom Sludge Bomb vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Clefable: 255-302 (64.7 - 76.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
(Dark Pulse into Sludge Bomb is always a KO on Clefable)

252 SpA Life Orb Voodoom Sludge Bomb vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Tapu Fini: 190-224 (55.2 - 65.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery

252 SpA Life Orb Voodoom Sludge Bomb vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Tomohawk: 140-166 (33.8 - 40%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Stealth Rock

252 SpA Life Orb Voodoom Thunderbolt vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Tomohawk: 281-333 (67.8 - 80.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock

4 Atk Life Orb Adaptability Voodoom Sucker Punch vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Zeraora: 166-198 (52.3 - 62.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

4 Atk Life Orb Adaptability Voodoom Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Heatran: 432-510 (111.9 - 132.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO

4 Atk Life Orb Adaptability Voodoom Close Combat vs. 252 HP / 100 Def Equilibra: 421-499 (103.1 - 122.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO

252 SpA Life Orb Adaptability Voodoom Dark Pulse vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Zapdos: 229-270 (59.7 - 70.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252 SpA Life Orb Adaptability Voodoom Dark Pulse vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Slowking: 286-338 (72.5 - 85.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

4 Atk Life Orb Adaptability Voodoom Sucker Punch vs. 252 HP / 0 Def Slowking-Galar: 322-380 (81.7 - 96.4%) -- 56.3% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock

252 SpA Life Orb Adaptability Voodoom Dark Pulse vs. 252 HP / 80+ SpD Assault Vest Slowking-Galar: 218-260 (55.3 - 65.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock

252 SpA Life Orb Adaptability Voodoom Dark Pulse vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Urshifu-Rapid-Strike: 157-186 (46 - 54.5%) -- 96.9% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock

252 SpA Life Orb Adaptability Voodoom Focus Blast vs. 248 HP / 144 SpD Mandibuzz: 281-333 (66.4 - 78.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

4 Atk Life Orb Adaptability Voodoom Close Combat vs. 248 HP / 60+ Def Mandibuzz: 187-221 (44.2 - 52.2%) -- 15.6% chance to 2HKO (needs Knock Off support but isn't unheard of)

Voodoom @ Life Orb
EVs: 4 Atk / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Ability: Adaptability
Naive Nature
- Sucker Punch
- Close Combat
- Dark Pulse
- Sludge Bomb / Thunderbolt

Voodoom @ Life Orb
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Ability: Adaptability
Timid Nature
- Nasty Plot
- Focus Blast / Aura Sphere
- Dark Pulse
- Sludge Bomb
 
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WIP

Buff Overview

Major Buffs: -Volt Absorb, +Sheer Force
Minor Buffs: +8 SpA, +2 Spe

Voodoom's main problem is that its breaking power is way too low, which forces it to be reliant on setting up to score kills. In order to make Voodoom better, I think that we should focus on boosting its natural breaking power as much as possible. Sheer Force is an amazing ability for Voodoom because it buffs all four of its main attacking moves, essentially giving it a built-in Nasty Plot. Having a built-in power boost also means that Voodoom doesn't have to max out its HP investment, allowing it to invest in Special Attack and increase its power even further. Boosting its base Special Attack to 113 further improves this, turning what were once 3HKOs for Voodoom into almost OHKOs. The slight increase in Speed prevents Voodoom from speedtying with the Latis, Gengar, and Kitsunoh.

252 SpA Life Orb Sheer Force Voodoom Flash Cannon vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Clefable: 291-343 (73.8 - 87%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

252+ SpA Life Orb Sheer Force Voodoom Flash Cannon vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Clefable: 320-377 (81.2 - 95.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

252 SpA Life Orb Sheer Force Voodoom Dark Pulse vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Slowking: 273-322 (69.2 - 81.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252+ SpA Life Orb Sheer Force Voodoom Dark Pulse vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Slowking: 299-354 (75.8 - 89.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252 SpA Life Orb Sheer Force Voodoom Thunderbolt vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Tomohawk: 361-426 (87.1 - 102.8%) -- 18.8% chance to OHKO

252+ SpA Life Orb Sheer Force Voodoom Thunderbolt vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Tomohawk: 398-468 (96.1 - 113%) -- 75% chance to OHKO

252 SpA Life Orb Sheer Force Voodoom Focus Blast vs. 252 HP / 128+ SpD Heatran: 463-546 (119.9 - 141.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO

252 SpA Life Orb Sheer Force Voodoom Thunderbolt vs. 252 HP / 88 SpD Corviknight: 312-369 (78 - 92.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

252+ SpA Life Orb Sheer Force Voodoom Thunderbolt vs. 252 HP / 88 SpD Corviknight: 341-403 (85.2 - 100.7%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO

252 SpA Life Orb Sheer Force Voodoom Thunderbolt vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Toxapex: 221-263 (72.6 - 86.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252+ SpA Life Orb Sheer Force Voodoom Thunderbolt vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Toxapex: 244-289 (80.2 - 95%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252 SpA Life Orb Sheer Force Voodoom Focus Blast vs. 252 HP / 128 SpD Equilibra: 468-554 (114.7 - 135.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO
 
Final submissions

BUFF OVERVIEW

Major:
+10 to special attack
+20 to attack
+ SteelWorker
-10 to defense
-10 to special defense
- Cursed Body

Minor
+ Bullet Punch
+MeteorMash
+ Sword Dance

I wanted to try an unorthodox way of raising voodoom’s power. Voodooms best trait right now is it’s coverage, Dark and fighting with either steel or electric is near unrestricted so I wanted to lean into that. Effectively have a Third stab, and those stabs being unresisted gives it an immediate boost in power against the field while not completely turning its counters on its head.
 
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Buff Overview:
Move Changes: +Thunder (minor)
Stat Changes: +10 Speed (major), +5 Special Attack (minor)
Ability Changes: +No Guard (major)
Type Changes: None

Rationale:
I feel one of the most important elements of this buff process is distinguishing :Voodoom:'s playstyle from :Kerfluffle:'s. Given their similar offensive capabilities, it would be in our best interest to avoid letting one overshadow the other.

As previously stated, Voodoom has access to great 4-move-coverage compared to Kerf which, on paper, is a more compelling reason to use Voodoom. Voodoom's major problems start to appear when you pair its average special attack stat with its damaging moves. You either sacrifice on damage for accuracy or vice versa. Nasty plot failed to redeem this flaw since Voodoom lacks great defenses/recovery to let it repeatedly set-up and its 110 speed allows it to be easily revenge killed on subsequent turns. To combat this dilema, replacing one of its abilities with No Guard would help alleviate its offensive issues without really needing to change stats. It also doesn't matter which ability gets replaced.

The inclusion of Thunder in conjunction with No Guard would further shore-up its damage output as well as give No Guard purpose beyond guaranteed Focus Blasts. Voodoom already possesses electric-coverage, so it wouldn't deviate wildly from its current build. I considered the inclusion of Volt Switch to Voodoom's toolkit but felt it risked creating too much of a parallel with Kerfuffle.

Voodoom's speed is rather dated when compared to other mons with similar stat distributions. +10 speed would allow timid Voodoom to outpace :Latios:/:Latias:, :Astrolotl:, :Cawmodore:, and :Kerfluffle:. The only machup this significantly impacts is Cawmodore since +6 bullet punch fails to kill from full and Voodoom easily KOs Cawm in return.

+6 252 Atk Cawmodore Bullet Punch vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Voodoom: 249-294 (77.5 - 91.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

The problem at this point was that even with the more reliable damage output and the speed increase, timid Voodoom's OHKO potential was still underwhelming. This ultimately resulted in recommending a +5 to spatk to make some calcs slightly more appealing.

[Damage Roll 105 SPATK]
[Damage Roll 110 SPATK]

:Equilibra:
252 SpA Life Orb Voodoom Focus Blast vs. 252 HP / 128 SpD Equilibra: 343-406 (84 - 99.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
252 SpA Life Orb Voodoom Focus Blast vs. 252 HP / 128 SpD Equilibra: 351-416 (86 - 101.9%) -- 12.5% chance to OHKO

:Heatran:
252 SpA Life Orb Voodoom Focus Blast vs. 252 HP / 128+ SpD Heatran: 338-400 (87.5 - 103.6%) -- 18.8% chance to OHKO
252 SpA Life Orb Voodoom Focus Blast vs. 252 HP / 128+ SpD Heatran: 351-413 (90.9 - 106.9%) -- 37.5% chance to OHKO

:Tomohawk:
252 SpA Life Orb Voodoom Thunder vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Tomohawk: 322-380 (77.7 - 91.7%) -- 31.3% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
252 SpA Life Orb Voodoom Thunder vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Tomohawk: 333-393 (80.4 - 94.9%) -- 50% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock

:Blissey:
252 SpA Life Orb Voodoom Focus Blast vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Blissey: 338-400 (47.3 - 56%) -- 78.5% chance to 2HKO
252 SpA Life Orb Voodoom Focus Blast vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Blissey: 351-413 (49.1 - 57.8%) -- 96.1% chance to 2HKO

:Ferrothorn:
252 SpA Life Orb Voodoom Focus Blast vs. 252 HP / 176+ SpD Ferrothorn: 304-359 (86.3 - 101.9%) -- 12.5% chance to OHKO
252 SpA Life Orb Voodoom Focus Blast vs. 252 HP / 176+ SpD Ferrothorn: 312-369 (88.6 - 104.8%) -- 31.3% chance to OHKO

:Pajantom:
252 SpA Life Orb Voodoom Dark Pulse vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Pajantom: 268-320 (86.7 - 103.5%) -- 18.8% chance to OHKO
252 SpA Life Orb Voodoom Dark Pulse vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Pajantom: 281-330 (90.9 - 106.7%) -- 37.5% chance to OHKO

:Victini:
252 SpA Life Orb Voodoom Dark Pulse vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Victini: 291-346 (85.3 - 101.4%) -- 12.5% chance to OHKO
252 SpA Life Orb Voodoom Dark Pulse vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Victini: 304-359 (89.1 - 105.2%) -- 31.3% chance to OHKO

:Slowbro:
252 SpA Life Orb Voodoom Dark Pulse vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Slowbro: 351-416 (89 - 105.5%) -- 31.3% chance to OHKO
252 SpA Life Orb Voodoom Dark Pulse vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Slowbro: 361-429 (91.6 - 108.8%) -- 50% chance to OHKO

:Latios:
252 SpA Life Orb Voodoom Dark Pulse vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Latios: 268-320 (89 - 106.3%) -- 31.3% chance to OHKO
252 SpA Life Orb Voodoom Dark Pulse vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Latios: 281-330 (93.3 - 109.6%) -- 56.3% chance to OHKO
 
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Final Submission
Ability Changes:
Major: + electric surge, - volt absorb

Stat Changes:
Major: +8 hp, +12 spdef
Minor: + 5 spatk, - 15 atk

Movepool Changes:
Minor: + Volt Switch

Explanation:
Alright proper write up time. These changes are geared around the incredible combination of it's stabs and the nuke of terrain boosted rising voltage. These three moves can 2hko pretty much the entire tier bar spdef zapdos and jumbao. Voltage and Focus Blast in particular share a limted pool of mutual answers, a pool consisting of zapdos, lando t and glowking, all of which can be 2hkod by dark pulse depending on spreads. While this sounds busted out the ass, it shares the same issue as Kril where it can rarely ohko neutral targets so you would still need careful postioning to get the best out of it. This would give it an actual role on teams, as a special nuke that requires good play but if played well will almost certainly make progress. Electric Surge also opens up the possibility of Voodoom being used as an alternate Hawlucha partner on ho teams. While RillaLucha is a core that's not going away soon, Hawlucha would appreciate being paired with Voodoom as it can weaken luchas checks like Clef and Zapdos (fightspam™ the new birdspam, patent pending).

All of these are with 110 spatk ftr as with the number of proposals that include a spatk boost of that range I figured it was more likely than not that we end up with something like that

252 SpA Choice Specs Voodoom Rising Voltage (140 BP) vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Clefable in Electric Terrain: 287-338 (72.8 - 85.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery

252 SpA Choice Specs Voodoom Rising Voltage (70 BP) vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Tomohawk in Electric Terrain: 316-374 (76.3 - 90.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Hazehawk can't outstall you btw, roosting away it's flying type gives rising voltage the terrain boost and so it does the exact same damage. Fun interaction.

252 SpA Choice Specs Voodoom Rising Voltage (140 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ SpD Slowking in Electric Terrain: 356-420 (90.3 - 106.5%) -- 43.8% chance to OHKO

252 SpA Choice Specs Voodoom Focus Blast vs. 252 HP / 128 SpD Equilibra: 408-480 (100 - 117.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO

252 SpA Choice Specs Voodoom Focus Blast vs. 72 HP / 252 SpD Astrolotl: 271-321 (72.2 - 85.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252 SpA Choice Specs Voodoom Dark Pulse vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Zapdos: 190-225 (49.6 - 58.7%) -- 99.6% chance to 2HKO

252 SpA Choice Specs Voodoom Rising Voltage (70 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Tornadus-Therian in Electric Terrain: 290-342 (96.9 - 114.3%) -- 81.3% chance to OHKO

Tbh I'm not sure if the stat buffs are major or not because while it's a noticeable change, it wouldn't exactly change its playstyle. The additional hp lets uninvested doom live a zera cc from full, the hp plus spdef lets it live specs pult draco from full with 4 spdef invest and turns Slowkings scald from an all but guaranteed 3hko into a guaranteed 4hko. The spatk lets focus blast guarantee an ohko on libra with specs focus blast and gives good odds to 2hko physdef zapdos with specs dark pulse. These changes aren't huge, especially since they don't account for rocks (which takes way more invest) but they could be the difference between Voodoom getting one extra kill on a game to game basis and I also found the slowking calcs to be worth this change. (For anyone interested, if you wanted to reach the same calcs with just def and spdef changes it'd be +5 and +17 respectively so this is the more optimal version).

252 Atk Zeraora Close Combat vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Voodoom: 284-336 (84.2 - 99.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252 SpA Choice Specs Dragapult Draco Meteor vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Voodoom: 285-336 (84.5 - 99.7%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

0 SpA Slowking Scald vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Voodoom: 93-111 (27.5 - 32.9%) -- guaranteed 4HKO (just don't get burned lmao)

252 SpA Choice Specs Voodoom Focus Blast vs. 252 HP / 128 SpD Equilibra: 408-480 (100 - 117.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO

252 SpA Choice Specs Voodoom Dark Pulse vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Zapdos: 190-225 (49.6 - 58.7%) -- 99.6% chance to 2HKO

Volt Switch honestly doesn't seem like a major buff to me. No matter what buffs we give this thing, it's likely still not ohkoing Clef, Tomo, Zap and others when facing them down one on one. Volt switch gives doom a way of making progress vs these rather than just losing momentum. It would also open up the possibility of a scarf set which could check cawm, pult and potentially even chomp but idk if the world is ready for that. :psysly:
 
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Final Submission

Buff Overview

Major Change

Ability Change: - Cursed Body + Magnet Pull


Explanation: Voodoom's biggest asset is its matchup against steel type walls. (Fighting is Supereffective against Steel and Ghost types immune to Fighting are weak to dark). Eliminating steel type walls is a significant niche. One that is the main reason Magnezone has been used for multiple generations.

In addition, this even preserves part of the original idea behind Voodoom as Steel types are annoying to Flying types (like Togekiss has always been), normal types (like Togekiss used to be) and Fairy types (like Togekiss now is), meaning that leaning into this property would help either a Togekiss or similarly typed Pokemon on the team.

The biggest way to lean into being a wallbreaker that specialises in dealing with steel types is to become a better-magnezone and use magnet pull.

This not only allows Voodoom to break what it wants to break without the wall switching until Voodoom wears itself out, it also means it has better opportunity to set up Nasty Plots should it want to.

This is an unusual idea but would carve a significant niche for Voodoom that is unlikely to be rendered irrelevant by future gens.
 
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Final Submission

Major Buffs:
+ Ice Beam

Minor Buffs:
- Volt Absorb, + Rattled
+ 20 SpDef

Explanation:
Rattled means you can grab a free speed boost from Specs Dragapult Shadow Ball, random weaker U-Turns from the likes of Dragapult/Mandibuzz/Scarf Landorus-T/Corviknight if you're feeling lucky or certain Dark moves such as Foul Play, Dark Pulse, Crunch or even the omnipresent Knock Off if you determine you don't need your item as much. This effectively means you're really hard to revenge kill and can set up a Nasty Plot or deal some big chip for the rest of you team. Bonus: If they switch into Landorus-T or Tomohawk you get a free speed boost as well from Intimidate.

Ice Beam can secure some kills that Dark Pulse or Flash Cannon cannot even if you don't have Life Orb active, such as Scarf Jumbao, Tomohawk, Zapdos and Scarf Landorus-T while also making it possible to revenge kill a Garchomp that hasn't gotten a speed boost yet. Running Ice Beam over Flash Cannon means you lose out on Clefable (you can definitely still pick off a weakened Clef tho) and you do significantly less damage to Tapu Fini, but overall I'd say it's worth it for the amount of compression.

+20 Spdef allows you to live a Specs Draco Meteor from Dragapult.

Do I think this is proposal a little opportunistic? Yes, but I think it plays to Voodoom's strengths a lot better than having to swap into an Electric move from Tapu Koko/Zapdos/Zeraora/Krilowatt, all of which can end Voodoom's whole career if they click another move or are faster anyway.

Note: I'm not posting any non-Ice Beam offensive calcs because there is no effective change in damage output other than the difference between Flash Cannon and Ice Beam, which rarely comes into play.

252 SpA Choice Specs Dragapult Draco Meteor vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Voodoom: 264-312 (82.2 - 97.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

252 SpA Choice Specs Dragapult Shadow Ball vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Voodoom: 81-96 (25.2 - 29.9%) -- guaranteed 4HKO
0- Atk Dragapult U-turn vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Voodoom: 64-76 (19.9 - 23.6%) -- possible 5HKO
0 Atk Mandibuzz U-turn vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Voodoom: 43-51 (13.3 - 15.8%) -- possible 7HKO

+2 252 SpA Voodoom Ice Beam vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Jumbao: 326-384 (100.3 - 118.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+2 252 SpA Voodoom Ice Beam vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Tomohawk: 406-478 (98 - 115.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
+2 252 SpA Voodoom Ice Beam vs. 248 HP / 0 SpD Zapdos: 370-436 (96.6 - 113.8%) -- 75% chance to OHKO
+2 252 SpA Life Orb Voodoom Ice Beam vs. 248 HP / 144 SpD Mandibuzz: 398-468 (94 - 110.6%) -- 62.5% chance to OHKO
252 SpA Voodoom Ice Beam vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Landorus-Therian: 408-484 (127.8 - 151.7%) -- guaranteed OHKO
252 SpA Voodoom Ice Beam vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Garchomp: 388-460 (108.6 - 128.8%) -- guaranteed OHKO

+2 252 SpA Life Orb Voodoom Ice Beam vs. 0 HP / 4 SpD Tapu Koko: 277-326 (98.5 - 116%) -- 87.5% chance to OHKO
+2 252 SpA Life Orb Voodoom Ice Beam vs. 252 HP / 4 SpD Clefable: 239-282 (60.6 - 71.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
 
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Posting for reminder's sake to say that submissions close in a bit under 14 hours, so make sure to finish up your posts if you haven't yet.
 
FINAL SUBMISSION
Major Buffs:

Abilities:
+ No Guard
- Volt Absorb
Stats:
+10 SpAtk
+5 Spe



Minor Buffs:
Moves:
+ Thunder
Stats:
-15 Atk

Explanation:
I believe that by gaining No Guard, voodoom's viability would significantly increase. It would allow him to have a unique role as a sweeper, and ensure he can effectively fulfil this role to an acceptable standard. Similarly, giving him thunder makes perfect sense; it provides another No Guard payoff, and even fits in well with Voodoom's electric-type themes. However, when buffing a Pokemon, there is a fine line between buffing them too little, and too much. The above edit to Voodoom's stats should hopefully allow him to more comfortably succeed in his role, without tipping him over the edge and into the realm of unfairness.
 
Moderator Hat On:
It should be noted that any buffs you submit are supposed to be piecemeal, that is, if you submit Huge Power, Poison Jab, and +10 Speed, your options would probably be added to the pool of Major and Minor buffs as:

Major Buffs += Huge Power, +10 Speed
Minor Buffs += Poison Jab, +10 Speed

The ideal is that major buffs should be a major increase in the power of a mon, and majorly change how the mon plays, and how its built with and played against. Speed would be in both pools as it really changes how the mon plays, but at the same time, if there's a bigger major buff chosen, its still probably feasible as a minor buff. Poison Jab would absolutely be a strong power increase, but wouldn't really change how you build with the mon. To reiterate, we aren't gonna be voting for a user's buff as a whole package, but rather the buffs themselves (1 Major Buff, multiple Minor Buffs). The Buff Leader has jurisdiction as to what counts as a Major Buff or Minor Buff, but should err on the side of including as much as is balanced.

One Major Buff will be chosen
Multiple Minor Buffs may be chosen
A buff can count as a Major or Minor buff, and the Minor Buff slate will be created after the Major Buff is chosen.
 
I sat down and thought about this for a time, and I came up with a decent proposal. However, it happens that Jewvia articulated exactly the same ideas two days prior, the one difference being +Volt Switch versus +SpD. So I suppose I can take comfort in the assurance that my thoughts are represented here, and this plan in particular has my support. Scizivire also presents a persuasive concept with specific targets in mind, though it may be lacking in immediate power.

Then comes the modpost.

quziel, would you give some further clarification? Do "whole packages" that have been submitted thus far require subdivision and reformatting to enter consideration? If so, is the deadline in <8 hours still in effect? How should we be responding to this post? Thank you.
 
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You do not have to subdivide your posts, there will be a good faith effort to determine the "major buffs" from each post submitted so far, and once we vote on the major buff, we'll have a short discussion period to determine what the minor buffs are afterwards. There is not going to be anyone who gets a "buff winner" tag at the end.
 
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