Ever since it was first mentioned by
horyzhnz , I've been interested Choice Scarf Malamar.
Malamar @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Contrary
EVs: 76 HP / 252 Atk / 180 Spd
Jolly Nature
-Superpower
-Night Slash
-Destiny Bond / Topsy-Turvy
-Switcheroo
With the standard lefties set or even with ChestoRest, Malamar is pretty mediocre at best in the metagame right now. I've always thought there was some unused potential in Malamar, and after a quite a bit of using this set, I've come to conclude this is an amazing set for Malamar. Previously, I started using this with Topsy-Turvy as a an experiment to stop Calm Mind and Double Power Sigilyph, but as I continued using it, I've found it to be extremely useful, doubling as a sweeper and a revenge-killer at the same time.
The main problem with Malamar right now is its disappointing speed. It must almost always take a hit before dealing damage in return, and in conjunction with its mediocre bulk, takes a lot of built up damage; this often causes it to not do much during battles. Furthermore, with its poor typing that gives it no resistances, it finds a hard time forcing things out and setting up. However, most, albeit not all, of its problems are alleviated with a Choice Scarf.
This Malamar finds plenty of opportunities to get the ball rolling, unlike before. With its newfound speed, it KOs and boosts on weakened pokemon, thinking they outspeed it and are safe. With more defensively orientated teams where its speed is not as needed, it can cripple walls with Switcheroo and give itself free turns to set up. Then, it is much easier to keep the ball rolling because it now almost always attacks first before taking damage. In addition, with Malamar's typing giving it two uncommon weaknesses and the defense boosts from Superpower, it is almost never OHKO'ed by revenge killers. Destiny Bond can be used as a clutch stop to otherwise rampant threats, while Topsy-Turvy can stop setup sweepers like SD Feraligatr and Shiftry, NP Mismagius, or CM Spritomb without sacrificing itself. Night Slash is for coverage, hitting almost everything except for Granbull and Togetic.
While still a bit shaky as a sweeper due to the large amount of resists to Fighting, it does perform very well as a revenge killer. Unlike competitors, almost nobody excepts a scarfed Malamar which makes it do its job with a very high success rate. Also, it isn't complete setup bait after being locked into Superpower simply due to the fact that Superpower boosts Malamar's stats as well, pressuring pokemon trying to take advantage of it. Malamar also has the bonus of having Switcheroo, meaning it is not a completely liability against stall.
Still, Malamar has a whole slew of problems. The main downside is its inability to switch moves to hit Ghost- and Poison-types. Things like Ghost-types (especially Spritomb), bulky psychics like Musharna, Poison-types like Weezing, Vileplume and Draglage, Granbull, and Vivillon are common things that wall it. Physically bulky pokemon like Rhydon can also take a boosted Superpower or two and phaze with Dragon Tail. Poison-types and Ghost-types will still be detered due to the commonly run Psycho Cut and Night Slash (at least until they figure out its item). However, Malamar can at least permanently cripple these with Switcheroo or take them down with Destiny Bond, things that other sets fail to do. Malamar still needs a lot of team support to function, but I've found that Scarf Malamar will consistently return its share of the bargain, and is something I hope to see more insight on.
I'll try to post some replays, though I'll be quite busy over the weekend.