I play a lot of Magic: the Gathering. In that game, there's a deck archetype called "Goodstuff"; basically, everything in the deck is good, but none of it particularly synergises well. That spell is nice, and so's that creature, but you're never getting more out of them than exactly what's printed on the card. The best decks, though, use cards that under most circumstances might not be as good, but which, when paired with certain other cards, get better than normal. The cards in those decks are force multipliers. A player wouldn't embarrass themselves at a tourney with a Goodstuff deck, but they're usually not the winning deck.
My Pokemon team is a Goodstuff deck.
Each of the members is very good at what they do, and I have a wide range of coverage and several different roles. But the actions of one party member don't really affect the others, aside from maybe a Baton Pass from Scolipede to Tyranitar or Scizor. There is no plan behind this party, beyond "these are some of my favorites that are decent in OU", and I know that if I want to improve it there should be a plan.
Just a heads up, I do this fairly casually - I don't ladder and I'm behind on the meta. I have run this team a few times, and it's been generally successful, but they were all "amateur OU" matches. This is my first RMT, and I tried to have it meet the forum rules, but if I'm breaking one I'd be happy to fix it. Be gentle. :)
So, my team as it stands;
Ampharos @ Ampharosite
Modest - HP 4 / SAtk 252 / Spe 252
Static
- Focus Blast
- Thunderbolt
- Agility
- Dragon Pulse
Ampharos is my main sweeper. Against anything but a team full of fairies, Mega Ampharos is a beast. At its heart, this build is all about Special Attacking. This set is lifted straight from the Strategy Dex, and basically you toss him out against a predicted goodmatchup, mega evolve, and Agility the first turn, then start dropping whatever attack will be most effective against the defender.
Reuniclus @ Leftovers
Bold - HP 252 / Def 252 / SDef 4
Magic Guard
- Calm Mind
- Recover
- Focus Blast
- Psychic
I chose Reuniclus because I needed a Physical Wall, and the team lacked anything to use against Fighting-types (no flyers, no other psychic-types). The goal with Reuniclus is to get him out aginst something that will have trouble KOing him, and alternate between Calm Mind and Recover, then sweep. If that isn't doable, I'll at least be able to chip away at somthing that could be dangerous to other parts of my team.
Scolipede @ Focus Sash
Jolly - HP 4 / Atk 252 / Spe 252
Speed Boost
- Baton Pass
- Swords Dance
- Spikes
- Megahorn
I loved Scolipede in Gen V, so when it got Speed Boost in Gen VI I was ecstatic. This was the first guy on the team, which fits because I use him as my lead. The choice path for the critter is straightforward; if you think your opponent's team will be weak to physical attacks, toss down SD. Otherwise go Spikes. He's guaranteed to survive the first attack due to FS, then baton pass the next turn. If your opponent doesn't hit you and you think you can leave the pressure off another turn, try an additional set-up move. I understand that Taunt screws this plan up, but I'm not exactly up on how, so an explanation - and suggestions for how to deal with it - would be appreciated.
Tyranitar @ Assault Vest
Careful - HP 252 / Atk 4 / SDef 252
Sand Stream
- Crunch
- Pursuit
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
Since I was running BP Scolipede as a lead, I needed some targets for the Swords Dance Baton Pass. I also needed both Ground and Rock type attacks for coverage, so I went with the Assault Vest Ttar build. He's sort of a Special Wall with a giant cannon grafted on his shoulder, or that's the idea anyways. Pursuit is in case I think they'll switch, and the other three moves cover his STABs and give me a Ground attack.
Scizor @ Choice Band (Was previously Aegislash)
Adamant - HP 248 / Atk 252 / Spe 8
Technician
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn
- Knock Off
- Superpower
I originally ran Aegislash in this slot as a pivot - no King's Shield, so I tossed him out against a good type matchup and then either ate a hit and then blasted the opponent into next week, or forced a switch. He was also my primary anti-Fairy weapon. When he was banned, I went with Scizor primarily because of the Steel typing - both my Aegislash build and Scizor are pretty hit-and-run, but they do it differently. This set is lifted straight from the Strategy Dex, and it combines good coverage with decent speed and bulk.
Greninja @ Life Orb
Timid - HP 4 / SAtk 252 / Spe 252
Protean
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Extrasensory
- Grass Knot
This guy is obviously pre-ORAS and is no longer legal for this tier, so I need to replace him. I chose him because the team needed a revenge killer and the set looked like it fit the bill. The idea is to predict a switch and then outspeed the opponent on the next turn, either KOing whatever they tossed out or forcing a switch. This set was the baseline pre-ORAS, and it gave it the widest coverage - Dark Pulse was also popular, but when Aegislash was banned I switched to Grass Knot to cover one of the type-holes on the team, and increase redundancy for matchups.
---
Looking at the strategy dex, it looks like Reuniclus may need a bit of an update (Switch Psychic to Psyshock, switch to Def 200 / SDef 56), and Scolipede should switch Megahorn for Pin Missile and switch the HP 4 for Def 4. That's assuming I keep with the Goodstuff setup and all of these stay on the team.
So, my particular questions;
- What should I put in the Greninja slot?
- Is there any way to improve this team? In particular, are there any synergies I could employ?
- Should I switch any of these out for different Pokemon? (I would prefer not to use Legendaries; I know that they aren't inherently stronger, but I dislike them aesthetically and it's harder to get good IVs on them in-game.)
Thanks for the help!
My Pokemon team is a Goodstuff deck.
Each of the members is very good at what they do, and I have a wide range of coverage and several different roles. But the actions of one party member don't really affect the others, aside from maybe a Baton Pass from Scolipede to Tyranitar or Scizor. There is no plan behind this party, beyond "these are some of my favorites that are decent in OU", and I know that if I want to improve it there should be a plan.
Just a heads up, I do this fairly casually - I don't ladder and I'm behind on the meta. I have run this team a few times, and it's been generally successful, but they were all "amateur OU" matches. This is my first RMT, and I tried to have it meet the forum rules, but if I'm breaking one I'd be happy to fix it. Be gentle. :)
So, my team as it stands;
Ampharos @ Ampharosite
Modest - HP 4 / SAtk 252 / Spe 252
Static
- Focus Blast
- Thunderbolt
- Agility
- Dragon Pulse
Ampharos is my main sweeper. Against anything but a team full of fairies, Mega Ampharos is a beast. At its heart, this build is all about Special Attacking. This set is lifted straight from the Strategy Dex, and basically you toss him out against a predicted goodmatchup, mega evolve, and Agility the first turn, then start dropping whatever attack will be most effective against the defender.
Reuniclus @ Leftovers
Bold - HP 252 / Def 252 / SDef 4
Magic Guard
- Calm Mind
- Recover
- Focus Blast
- Psychic
I chose Reuniclus because I needed a Physical Wall, and the team lacked anything to use against Fighting-types (no flyers, no other psychic-types). The goal with Reuniclus is to get him out aginst something that will have trouble KOing him, and alternate between Calm Mind and Recover, then sweep. If that isn't doable, I'll at least be able to chip away at somthing that could be dangerous to other parts of my team.
Scolipede @ Focus Sash
Jolly - HP 4 / Atk 252 / Spe 252
Speed Boost
- Baton Pass
- Swords Dance
- Spikes
- Megahorn
I loved Scolipede in Gen V, so when it got Speed Boost in Gen VI I was ecstatic. This was the first guy on the team, which fits because I use him as my lead. The choice path for the critter is straightforward; if you think your opponent's team will be weak to physical attacks, toss down SD. Otherwise go Spikes. He's guaranteed to survive the first attack due to FS, then baton pass the next turn. If your opponent doesn't hit you and you think you can leave the pressure off another turn, try an additional set-up move. I understand that Taunt screws this plan up, but I'm not exactly up on how, so an explanation - and suggestions for how to deal with it - would be appreciated.
Tyranitar @ Assault Vest
Careful - HP 252 / Atk 4 / SDef 252
Sand Stream
- Crunch
- Pursuit
- Stone Edge
- Earthquake
Since I was running BP Scolipede as a lead, I needed some targets for the Swords Dance Baton Pass. I also needed both Ground and Rock type attacks for coverage, so I went with the Assault Vest Ttar build. He's sort of a Special Wall with a giant cannon grafted on his shoulder, or that's the idea anyways. Pursuit is in case I think they'll switch, and the other three moves cover his STABs and give me a Ground attack.
Scizor @ Choice Band (Was previously Aegislash)
Adamant - HP 248 / Atk 252 / Spe 8
Technician
- Bullet Punch
- U-turn
- Knock Off
- Superpower
I originally ran Aegislash in this slot as a pivot - no King's Shield, so I tossed him out against a good type matchup and then either ate a hit and then blasted the opponent into next week, or forced a switch. He was also my primary anti-Fairy weapon. When he was banned, I went with Scizor primarily because of the Steel typing - both my Aegislash build and Scizor are pretty hit-and-run, but they do it differently. This set is lifted straight from the Strategy Dex, and it combines good coverage with decent speed and bulk.
Greninja @ Life Orb
Timid - HP 4 / SAtk 252 / Spe 252
Protean
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam
- Extrasensory
- Grass Knot
This guy is obviously pre-ORAS and is no longer legal for this tier, so I need to replace him. I chose him because the team needed a revenge killer and the set looked like it fit the bill. The idea is to predict a switch and then outspeed the opponent on the next turn, either KOing whatever they tossed out or forcing a switch. This set was the baseline pre-ORAS, and it gave it the widest coverage - Dark Pulse was also popular, but when Aegislash was banned I switched to Grass Knot to cover one of the type-holes on the team, and increase redundancy for matchups.
---
Looking at the strategy dex, it looks like Reuniclus may need a bit of an update (Switch Psychic to Psyshock, switch to Def 200 / SDef 56), and Scolipede should switch Megahorn for Pin Missile and switch the HP 4 for Def 4. That's assuming I keep with the Goodstuff setup and all of these stay on the team.
So, my particular questions;
- What should I put in the Greninja slot?
- Is there any way to improve this team? In particular, are there any synergies I could employ?
- Should I switch any of these out for different Pokemon? (I would prefer not to use Legendaries; I know that they aren't inherently stronger, but I dislike them aesthetically and it's harder to get good IVs on them in-game.)
Thanks for the help!
