Heavy Warfare [OU HO]

[zaaps1]

Hello Smogon! This is my first attempt at a Heavy Offense team. I built this after taking a look at the HO thread and I was very interested. It describes my play style perfectly. I love to go all out attacker. I love to just click the attack option and let what gets done get done. I love tearing apart teams one by one, another after another. It's a great feeling. Stall has never appealed to me. Imo, there is nothing exciting about waiting for a sedated opponent to die. There is no fun in watching your opponent buffeted by external forces. I've always believe in winning on my own merit, and I don't see how being able to stall about a few turns of Toxic proves you are a better player at all. Of course, this is my personal preference and for many people Stall may very well be fun.

But for me, I'd much rather destroy opponents through all-out attacking, or get ripped apart trying.

On to my team:

I actually lied. This is not my first HO team. My first ever HO team was an all-out special offensive. It utilized the power of Azelf and Heatran, among others, as diverse special sweepers. However, many of the powerful special sweepers were too slow to get their job done (and could not practically boost speed), or otherwise too frail. So I looked at the physical spectrum. What caught by eye was the sheer power of priority move abusers (Scizor, Lucario, etc.) and the Dragon Dancers, who mostly did not have to worry about speed--or at least not as much as the special sweepers such as Azelf.

Thus, my HO physical team:

Uxie : Infernape : Salamence : Gyarados : Lucario : Scizor

Uxie @ Light Clay
Levitate
Impish
252hp/126def/130sp def
~Stealth Rock
~Reflect
~Light Screen
~U-Turn

I know many HO teams like using Azelf. Azelf is powerful, but Uxie is reliable. Oftentimes, I can bring in Uxie later in the game to set up more screens or to sponge a hit and give a sweeper a free switch in. Sure Azelf can take down another Poke with Explosion, but then Azelf has only set up 1 round of screens, and to be that defeats the purpose. A Dual Screener must be able to set up screens when screens are needed. If it isn't there, well then it isn't doing its job.

SR is there because nothing else on my team has the time nor capacity to do so.

U turn breaks sashes and acts as a "slow switch" so Uxie sponges a hit for my switch-in.

[Vs. Top 10 Leads]
Azelf: I try to SR, if they let me, cool. Either way, U-Turn is next. I usually switch to Scizor, but I've met a few stray Azelf with Fire Blast/Flamethrower. More often, I go to Gyarados, who can weaken an Explosion.
Metagross: Reflect, Rocks, Light Screen, U-Turn to Infernape, then set up.
Jirachi: Take the Scarf and get up Rocks. Switch to Infernape while they rock, then set up and go.
Aerodactyl: U-Turn away to Scizor, set up while they Rock, KO wit Bullet Punch, then go.
Swampert: My team is terrible against Swampert. I really need a solution. For now, I rock, then get up Reflect, then deal with it case-by-case with whatever I get with Roar's switch.
Infernape: Light Screen, Rocks, Reflect, U-Turn, Gyarados, set up, go.
Roserade: Have Uxie take the sleep, then go to either Scizor or Infernape to set up.
Ninjask: Get up rocks and a reflect, then get to Scizor. The great thing about Ninjask is that you can set up whenever you predict the Protect/Baton Pass. Usually I get a +2/+4 Scizor/Infernape, sometimes I've gotten a +6 before they switch.
Heatran: Light Screen, Rocks, Reflect (usually they Explode after I Reflect), then U-Turn. If the Heatran is still in play, I go to Gyarados. If not, I switch to whoever can deal with what's in.

Infernape @ Life Orb
Blaze
Jolly
4hp/252atk/252spd
~Swords Dance
~Flare Blitz
~Close Combat
~Stone Edge

The weakest link. I've shuffled this with Electivire, Tyranitar, even a stranger physical Azelf. I'm not sure which I like best, but Infernape seems to work the best. Tyranitar works nicely too, and this team has a slight problem with Latias, which Tyranitar covers well.

SD to boost, CC for preliminary STAB. Stone Edge is for Dragonite, Gliscor, Gyarados, and Salamence. Flare Blitz is secondary STAB. I used it over Fire Punch/Blaze Kick because of the HO theme. Infernape is meant to sweep as much as possible and then go down. Fire Punch and Blaze Kick do not accomplish that purpose. Flare Blitz is very strong, hits many things CC can't, and helps activate, as well as gets a huge boost by, Blaze.

Infernape is my own sweeper without priority or a way to boost speed. That's why there is a huge emphasis on speed.

Salamence @ Life Orb
Intimidate
Jolly
4hp/252atk/252spd
~Dragon Dance
~Outrage
~Earthquake
~Dragon Claw

Iffy on the fourth slot. I've tried Fire Blast but didn't see much use and removed emphasis on all-out physical attacking. Hidden Power Ice also saw no use since I'd rather Dragon Claw for STAB. Speaking of which, Dragon Claw is for when I don't want to get locked into Outrage. Although, Outrage fits the HO theme better, so I'll probably switch Dragon Claw for something else. Suggestions? Roost?

Gyarados @ Life Orb
Intimidate
Jolly
4hp/252atk/252spd
~Dragon Dance
~Waterfall
~Ice Fang
~Earthquake

I've tried Bounce and Stone Edge over Earthquake, but neither were as satisfactory. Basic Offensive DD Gyarados. Not much to say. I like switching this guy in the most after Uxie's U-Turn.

My main answer to walls such as Hippodwon and Gliscor.

Lucario @ Life Orb
Inner Focus
Adamant
252atk/4def/252spd
~Swords Dance
~Crunch
~Close Combat
~Extremespeed

Second of my Swords Dancers and arguably the most deadly. I have a tendency to reveal Lucario last, after the likes of Scizor, Infernape, and Gyarados have had their fun. Therefore, I'm not entirely worried about dealing with stuff like Latias or Salamence since opponents usually reveal those early one and they are most likely dealt with.

Thinking of switching to Jolly. I don't have too much trouble with the likes of Skarmory, since Infernape can easy deal with them and set up. Suggestions?

Scizor @ Life Orb
Technician
Adamant
252atk/4hp/252spd
~Swords Dance
~Bullet Punch
~Superpower
~Roost

I love Roost + SD Scizor. It lets me set up against a lot of stuff, including Bulky Rotoms and many walls. Scizor is what I usually reveal first, since it most likely will come with the least surprise. Rotoms have been giving me a lot of trouble, however. I'm been thinking of replacing Roost with Pursuit, Bug Bite, or Bug Buzz, what's the opinion of doing so?



Final Words
The main thing you might notice is that I do not concern myself with typing or resistances too much. If one of my sweepers meets its counter, well it's just going to have to suck it up and fight it out. In fact, I've beaten many, many counters with my sweepers just by staying in. For example, Zapdos and Rotom (non-H) on Scizor or Latias on Infernape. I rarely, if ever, switch. I usually switch to Uxie on the rare instances I do, just to get some screens up or sponge a hit. Switching greatly weakens my sweepers, with 2 SR-weak and the other 3 vulnerable to spikes. Plus, none of my sweepers really have enough bulk to take a hit, even a resisted one, and fulfill it's job.

So if my Lucario keeps a Gliscor, well, it's going to just have to Extremespeed and make the best of it.

Another thing, I talked a few times about the "theme" in HO. Imo, it's all about tempo. If you keep a fast tempo, you will win, because HO thrives under a fast tempo. If you lose tempo, you lose control, and if you lose control, you get walled. I once had Vaporeon over Infernape to switch in to sponge hits, act as Wish support, and Heal Bell. But switching to Vaporeon has a fatal flaw in that it loses tempo. And that, as I've said, can lose the game. Under a similar concept, I dislike recovery moves. I gave Scizor roost and I've considered throwing it on Salamence, but whenever I roost I feel like I've wasted a turn, no matter how "logical" it may be to heal.

What I believe is that with HO, each turn has its quota. What I mean is, I expect each turn to deal out a certain amount of damage, and if that move doesn't accomplish it, it is a wasted turn. If a move does not meet the quota, it loses tempo, which loses the game. This is further expanded by the fact that every single sweeper is Life Orbed. That means each one is a time bomb. They can only last for so long before their use is gone. Thus, it is vital to maintain a fast tempo and in doing so "outrun" time.

Thank you for reading my RMT. I hope you can help me greatly improve my team.

 

[zaaps1]

~Res

 

[-Broderick-]

Anyway, about your team: It's a regular HO team, so there isn't a whole lot to rate... But since you say Rotoms give you trouble, you may want to try a Tyranitar in place of Scizor? You say you've switched Tyranitar in with Ape a bunch of times since you say you have a bit of a Latias problem, so eh. Latias herself may also be another option to consider in place of Scizor, since you have Infernape with Flare Blitz+Life Orb, who would NOT enjoy Sandstorm at all if such pokemon was brought out after Tyranitar.

 

[SkyNet]

Ok, just a few nitpicks here as most of your team is a generic HO team.

I've never found DS Uxie lead to work well for me, if you don't want to use DS Azelf as a lead there are other good HO leads out there like; Aerodactyl, Venamoth, Roserade, Jumpluff (needs SR thou ;-;) and my personal favourite at the moment Encore Infernape

Infernape@Focus Sash
Jolly
64 Atk / 252 SpA / 192 Spe

Fake out
Stealth Rocks
Encore
Fire Blast

You know how this set works, fake out to breaks sashs, set up rocks to hinder Mence, Gyara and other flyers. Encore is what is so great about this lead, if you encore the right move you will in turn earn yourself a free switch-in and a free set-up to get the ball rolling.

Now you have a free space in your team, I would add Lum Berry DD Tar in that space to help with Zapdos and Rotom-A

Tyranitar@Lum Berry
Jolly
4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe

Dragon Dance
Crunch
Fire Punch
Stone Edge

Standard DDTar, does the job.

Next nitpick, DDMence and DDGyara are walled by totality different types of pokemons Mence is walled by Grounds and steels while Gyara is walled by Rotom-A and Celebi, in theory are reducing your amount of winning conditions.

To fix this I would replace Salamence with SubDDKingdra

Kingdra@Lum Berry
Adamant
Swift Swim
4HP / 252Atk / 252Spe

Dragon Dance
Substitute
Waterfall
Outrage


Stone Edge > Ice Fang on your Gyarados

On Scizor I would go Quick Attack > Roost

This will give Gyarados a harder time trying setting up on Scizor, as Scizor can give free turns to an opponents DD Gyarados which can cause alot of problems to your team.

Hope I've help, sorry it was so brief as I'm typing on my Wii and don't have a lot of time ATM, if you need anymore explanation just PM me

 

[august]

Hi.

I suggest you use Dual Screen Azelf over Uxie, while Azelf does not have the advantage of bulk and cannot easily setup screens in the later stages of the game like Uxie can, Azelf has access to Taunt and can therefore easily Taunt bulky Stealth Rock leads like Hippowdon or Swampert, meaning Salamence won't be taking 25% each time it comes in, which inturn makes it a lot harder to be revenge killed (see: CB Bullet Punch). The same goes for Gyarados in a sense, although it does not have to worry about Bullet Punch nearly as much. Azelf is also much more consistent as a Stealth Rocker, as its 361 Speed allows it to outspeed or speed tie the common Taunt leads.

Azelf @ Light Clay
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 HP/252 Spd/4 SDef
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Light Screen
- Taunt
- Stealth Rock
- Reflect

Next off, ditch Roost on Scizor for Bug Bite. If you are constantly sacrificing to weaken your opponent you will rarely find time to Roost. Bug Bite allows you to do a ton to Defensive Rotom-a, around 50% which will allow a clean 2HKO and will sufficiently weaken it for Gyarados and whatnot. At first i was going to suggest 236 Speed on Scizor, but I guess at that point you should just run max spe heh.

I agree with Kingdra, but I think it should go over Infernape if anything. You have a hell of a Life Orb Starmie weak if you can't manage to get Light Screen up, and Kingdra seems like its the only feasible fix and Infernape looks like it isnt doing all too much.

Good luck hope i atleast helped a little!

 

[Setsuna]

Edit: august too fast ¬¬

Hey there. The first detail that I want to name for you is to consider Azelf's double screen set in case you want to start in a complete offensive way. But Uxie is ok in terms of durability and bulkyness overall.

Infernape: it seems to be the weakest link as you have actually stated, and happens that in conjunction with Lucario it doesn't do a good job at all, they just bring weaknesses each other. And if you look at the team in general, you'll see that things like offensive Starmie, Heatran, Jolteon and Infernape itself giving troubles to the team. In order to replace Infernape and add a poke that somehow, repeat, somehow can deal with the aforementioned threats I suggest you to try out CM Latias:

Timid 64 HP / 252 Spd / 192 SpA
Calm Mind | Dragon Pulse | Surf | Recover

Thanks to the screens you will make a better use of this set than without them, and you will also have more reliable opportunities to set up Calm Mind.

On a team like this, the six Pokemons should not be all stat uppers because you will be relying the whole time in those moves to have success. So I want you to change Salamence's spread to a Mixed form, like this one for example:

Naive | 80 Atk 176 Spd 252 SpA
Draco Meteor | Earthquake | Fire Blast | Outrage/ Roost

With the screens up, Salamence will be harder to take down, and that is what you need to advantage of. I put only 176 EVs in speed to outrun Jolly Lucario, but if you feel uncomfortable tying with Gliscor, some Jirachis, and being outpaced by Electivire, feel free to move the major part of that attack effort values in order to fix that to your taste. But the wall-breaker style that Salamence can play here can be really appreciated for its team mates.

Gyarados: I guess you chose Jolly because of Jolteon, and I see it 'okay'. But what you need to change is Earthquake for Stone Edge as it is a superior options in most of Dragon Dance Gyarados (allows you to hit opposing Gyarados, Salamence, Togekiss). You can also consider Bounce instead of Ice Fang if you want to ensure the OHKO against max. Def / max. HP Celebi, but I don't see Celebi as a problem.

And finally, I want you to try out Stone Edge over Crunch on Lucario because otherwise it's setting up on you and that would mean "gg" probably. Doing this you are not countering it or something like that but reducing its space, which is defintely important.
On the other hand, replace Roost for Quick Attack as it allows you to OHKO Infernape and offensive Starmie (taking SR into account) and it also prevents Gyarados from setting up on your face. Roost is a good option if your team has entry hazards and Scizor can take benefit from them, but in this case what you need to do is SD and destroy as many pokemons as you can, in the proper way of course.

Nothing else to add. Good luck.