SS OU Is Slowking G, OP? (92.1 GXE)

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Introduction:

Currently OU is just pivot spam and a bunch of offensive play so I wanted to build a team that would do well vs most of that stuff. I also wanted to use Slowking G, because it's my fav new mon this generation, and one that I think is pretty good in OU. The tier feels like it is a bit of a MU fish, but I find that going into most MU's this team has at least given me a chance to win. I don't play many OU tours right now, and was just playing around on ladder, so figured I would post this team for anyone who wanted to use it.

First: Proof of Peak (s)
Snapchat-1078698554.jpg
Snapchat-979408531.jpg

Currently on the ladd in the top 500 I didn't think anyone had crossed 90 GXE, so I just thought it was cool that I crossed it one day on my main, and then the next day on an alt. On the alt account I managed to get on a some 30-40 game win streak with the team, giving me the idea to post it here.

THE TEAM

THE PROCESS

Slowking-Galar @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 148 SpA / 108 SpD
Quiet Nature
- Sludge Bomb
- Future Sight
- Flamethrower
- Earthquake

Whatever team I was going to build was going to start with this mon. Despite being an incredible wall that can switch in to most special attackers, this mon is single-handedly able to dent a vast amount of teams. Being able to absorb volt switch from scary special attackers, and actually dent others (unlike Chansey) means this mon can help force progress in many games. The set is somewhat standard for AV (having sludge bomb as primary STAB and for useful poisons, Fsight because its broken, and flamethrower for steels (particuarly Ferrothorn). Because Heatran is incredibly hard for stall to deal with, and scald does negligible vs Spd Heatran sets, I opted for Earthquake after finishing the rest of the team. Slowking-G does NOT like switching in to Heatran directly (while it still has leftovers), but is often vital in the the team effort to effectively deal with Heatran. The EVs allow it do be a strong special attacker, while capitalizing on the 1.5* boost that AV provides. Traditional Smogon sets run 252/176/80, but I have found the extra SpD to help in some matchups such as vs Magnezone. That being said, more SpA does also have its merits. (As an aside, most games I was even ok with this thing losing its AV, as long as I knew I could deal with the mons on the other team without it). Knock off hurts it, but after a few regens it will be fine, and able to always switch in and threaten something like Ferrothorn.

Toxapex @ Shed Shell
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Scald
- Knock Off
- Recover
- Haze

I honestly don't think I can say much about what Pex does that hasn't already been said. It is an incredible tool for stall and balance alike, and generally used to switch into every mon that you aren't sure what it does. It eats everything, and hazes away everything else. This set is standard aside from the shed shell, which is vital in the effort to deal with Heatran. As soon as Heatran is knocked, it becomes far less effective. The ability to switch into Heatran, deliver the knock, and switch out is very helpful for this team. I use Pex as a Knock Off switchin many games, but often need to be careful in games where I see a Heatran. If a team does not have Heatran, Shed Shell is useless, and you can freely let Toxapex lose its item. Its EVS maximize its physical defense, which is generally what this thing does best this generation.


Chansey (F) @ Eviolite
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Impish Nature
- Seismic Toss
- Soft-Boiled
- Toxic
- Stealth Rock

The first interchangeable mon on this team. (For Blissey, don't switch this thing for anything else pls). I think everyone knows what Blissey offers over Chansey this generation, with its ability to run HDB much more effectively. In my first build of this team, I used Mandibuzz over Tangrowth, and had two defoggers. This meant that Chansey was clearly better in most matchups than Blissey. After I decided that Tangrowth worked more favorably in more matchups, this became a much harder decision. What Chansey offers over Blissey is the ability to take defensive hits much better, which comes into play vs mons such as mixed Nidoking, which is a set that can be found (albeit somewhat uncommonly) this generation. It helps vs other physical attackers occasionally as well, such as excadrill (its not a great exca check obv), Mamoswine, etc. Chansey is this teams dedicated rocker (it isn't used as a teleport pivot like Blissey), but the set and EVS are otherwise standard. Use it like you use Chansey, just eat every SPA ever. Stoss is also invaluable chip for stall teams.


Corviknight @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Body Press
- Iron Defense
- Defog
- Roost

Probably the perfect defogger/mon. This mon does everything you could ever want a defogger to do. Live forever, check scary threats like Excadrill/Tapu Lele, Lando-T, Chomp, and pressure stall everything down. Again, the set is relatively standard for Corviknight, aside from potentially Iron Defense. ID is a tech employed on many stall teams, and one that I find pretty necessary on this team. It allows Corv to defog on mons such as SD lando and Chomp, and generally neutralize other threats such as flinches from SD Excadrill, or other setup mons. I really would not consider using any other set, after having seen how well this one has worked for me. You have to be careful if you see Magnezone (because this is not shed shell obviously), but this team traditionally has other answers for Mzone teams. If a team had spike stack AND Magnezone it would be problematic, but that is a team archetype that I very rarely see.


Clefable @ Leftovers
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 252 HP / 248 Def / 8 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Moonblast
- Calm Mind
- Soft-Boiled
- Heal Bell

Not to be a broken clock, but this IS the perfect stall mon. Amazing typing, amazing ability, and finally the chance to run that ability with a perfect healing move. Clefable serves as my teams cleric with heal bell, as well as backup (often primary) check to setup monsters like Garchomp. I loved running this back in the day vs Calm Mind Magearna, and watching as their +6 +6 stored powers did nothing vs +6 Spd unaware clef (and then doing 50 in return). Nowadays, CM serves a similar defensive role, allowing Clef to always defeat mons like CM Reuniclus 1v1 (barring crit). It also serves as a late game "sweeper," and in general, perfect mon.


Tangrowth
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 48 Def / 208 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Giga Drain
- Knock Off
- Focus Blast
- Protect

I want to do something different than most RMT's, which is after explaining this mon and its set, offer up a completely different, viable alternative. This is definitely the set I customized the most to fill the weaknesses in this team. Firstly, we can see that there is no item. This is vital in the effort to stop mons such as Crawdaunt (band OR sd), as well as Bisharp. The chip I got on some mons from rocky helmet, or running HDB, simply wasn't worth the very tough position I was put in some games vs these mons. Next, we can see that the last slot is protect instead of something like sleep powder or sludge bomb. This ensures that against Slowbro or Slowking, whoever they teleport into will not be killing Tangrowth. Tangrowth will still take around 40% from future sight, but it can regen off most of this damage. It is not a check to future sight Slowking-Galar, which is its own story, but Tang does well for itself in most matchups. Focus Blast is for both SD Kartana and Bisharp, both of which would otherwise provide a big struggle (you still have to hit FB unfortunately). Knock off is self-explanatory on most sets, but I originally had Toxic on this mon to help vs stuff like mixed Dracozolt. The problem is without knock off this team is far too weak to ghosts like SD Aegislash, and in the end I could not justify Toxic>Knock off. In an alternative version where I used Mandibuzz, this team is very very solid, but has a glaring weakness to physical electric pokemons. Phys Electric mons are very uncommon, but dracozolt, arctozolt, and even zeraora were incredibly tough to play around. In general, I have found Tangrowth to be SLIGHTLY better on this team.

For anyone wondering, here is the Mandibuzz set

Mandibuzz (F) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Overcoat
EVs: 248 HP / 204 Def / 56 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Foul Play
- Defog
- Whirlwind
- Roost

This set creeps adamant Craw, which is vital in the effort against its SD sets. Aside from being my second defogger, and incredible fsight switchin, I loved using Whirwind after a Future Sight to get unstoppable kills vs more passive teams. It is an amazing Rillaboom and Kartana check, as well as pretty much every physical attacker. The one issue with Mandibuzz>Tangrowth was the teams glaring weakness to physical electric moves, but otherwise this mon is every bit as viable as Tangrowth. I achieved the 91 GXE with this team, and the 92 GXE with the Tangrowth variant. I will include pastes to both, in case people want to experiment between the two.

Threatlist:
Heatran- Even with the precautions I employed, Heatran will often take a kill. Without more offensively designed mons, such as Garchomp, it is incredibly difficult to beat Heatran with only passive Pokemon. The good news is, Heatran will usually only take one kill, if that, and the team can proceed to beat the rest of many others.
Gengar- Absolutely nightmarish. Chansey cannot touch this thing, and it hits very very hard. If using the Tangrowth variant, aside from Pex and Slowking, there is no counterplay. The good news is Slowking G can live a +2 LO shadow ball from full, and hurt it back with EQ. If LO, it will also die relatively quickly. If Non-LO, the same thing applies, but it is even harder to beat.
Fsight Slowking G+other breakers- Although not scary on its own, Slowking G is very very scary when paired with other dangerous physical attackers. I will often go into my own Slowk G to try to set up my own fsight on it, but it is a difficult mon to beat, and must be played around carefully.
Electrics- If using the Mandibuzz variant, physical electrics are incredibly difficult.
Magnezone- Losing Corv in some matchups can be dire, so it is crucial to play around Mzone carefully.
Tapu Lele- Specifically specs with tbolt can be very scary. It is playable, with good predictions, but difficult.
Other physical threats- Typically, this team will lose to physical threats far quicker than SPA threats, and has the potential to be overwhelmed. Even mons such as Urshifu Water can be scary, if Toxapex were to die.
Despite these threats, as I've said, I do like this team vs a lot of what OU has right now.

Replays:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8ou-1308836146-s2o4c6qte1e7z0yhughe5hedtjiqyrwpw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8ou-1308826480-7ih9vekhtivb1ntzte0utpbg2vbfcijpw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8ou-1308815122-hdb9rqwje77eseu5xoflrmchex5ure0pw (this MU felt like pure stallbreak)+ Opp prob misplayed end
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8ou-1275058786-8o1y4spjbccwmwxi97p4sbdvijhaczjpw (Mandi version, I love how this replay demonstrates its perseverance, with decent play)

Imports (s)
https://pokepast.es/000559ed7687deac (Updated Tang version)
https://pokepast.es/b6eb02fbf4ac0755 (Mandi version)
Edit: someone told me heal bell is blocked by soundproof so make it aromatherapy lol

Thanks for reading this far if ya did!
 

Attachments

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Hey 100%GXE ! I just wanted to say that your team is really, really good and very well built. Like a month a go I came out with a similar team that featured Slowking (not galarian form) and RH Toxapex for Cinderace. I have just recently switched to Shed Shell variant to help against Heatran as my main check was mainly Slowking. My set for Slowking was to stop things like Lele, Heatran and with the Protect Tech for Future Sights. I went to AV Tangrowth and this allowed me to better check Zolt and Electric-type Pokémon. I completely agree that Tangrowth is quite vital for stall right now checking things that Corviknight/Skarmory cannot (in my stall team I went Skarmory to play with Spikes over Defog in a more offensive way to put pressure against other teams but with worse matchup against Ferrothorn builts).

I really think your team is amazing and it has some flaws as any team. The fact that I reached to a point/team very similar to yours makes me think that this is the main archetype for stall: Clef + Skarm/Corvik + Pex + Slowking + Chansey/Blissey + Tangrowth. However, with Galarian Slowking over Slowking you need to be aware of Tapu Lele's Life Orb CM sets running Psyshock and Moonblast as they can break through your team.

I share with you my team here as I wanted to do a RMT or a guideline post for stall in the current metagame. So if you would like to participate/help with this foreseeable post I would be so glad :).

By the way, thanks for sharing your thoughts on the metagame and your impressive team :) cya Pokémaniacs :heart:
 
Hey 100%GXE ! I just wanted to say that your team is really, really good and very well built. Like a month a go I came out with a similar team that featured Slowking (not galarian form) and RH Toxapex for Cinderace. I have just recently switched to Shed Shell variant to help against Heatran as my main check was mainly Slowking. My set for Slowking was to stop things like Lele, Heatran and with the Protect Tech for Future Sights. I went to AV Tangrowth and this allowed me to better check Zolt and Electric-type Pokémon. I completely agree that Tangrowth is quite vital for stall right now checking things that Corviknight/Skarmory cannot (in my stall team I went Skarmory to play with Spikes over Defog in a more offensive way to put pressure against other teams but with worse matchup against Ferrothorn builts).

I really think your team is amazing and it has some flaws as any team. The fact that I reached to a point/team very similar to yours makes me think that this is the main archetype for stall: Clef + Skarm/Corvik + Pex + Slowking + Chansey/Blissey + Tangrowth. However, with Galarian Slowking over Slowking you need to be aware of Tapu Lele's Life Orb CM sets running Psyshock and Moonblast as they can break through your team.

I share with you my team here as I wanted to do a RMT or a guideline post for stall in the current metagame. So if you would like to participate/help with this foreseeable post I would be so glad :).

By the way, thanks for sharing your thoughts on the metagame and your impressive team :) cya Pokémaniacs :heart:
Yo sick input, in all honesty slowking G is replaceable on my team, but it is a mon that speeds up games and one that I wanted to build around. I agree that this core is very solid for stall archetypes! The reason for non-av tang on this team was to deal with fsight+port, which is something that I find to be a glaring weakness in some stall teams. Tapu lele is an issue (with tbolt or even taunt), giving regular slowking some major merits of consideration. I think it slightly weakens the match-up vs STRONG volt switch users, such as Magnezone and Zapdos, but with AV tang on your variant it becomes somewhat more covered. Slowking also improves the heatran match-up, among some others. Your variant definitely looks cool, I'd be down to help with any posts/builds in the future

The one note I'd make about your variant is after having experimented with skarm vs corv, I really did prefer corv for a lot of reasons. I think removal is incredibly important, and probably would not sacrifice defog for Spikes. Especially with AV tang and boots on Clef (which may be hard to preserve) I just find that it may be a little too weak to hazard stack

Thanks again for the reply!
 
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252+ Atk Choice Band Adaptability Crawdaunt Crunch vs. 252 HP / 48+ Def Tangrowth: 196-232 (48.5 - 57.4%) -- 94.1% chance to 2HKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Adaptability Crawdaunt Crunch vs. 252 HP / 248+ Def Clefable: 119-141 (30.2 - 35.7%) -- guaranteed 4HKO after Leftovers recovery

That's all I have to say about Crawdaunt, it shouldn't break through clef if you play well, but if it appears your leftovers, clefable has been weakened, then a single def drop can make you lose probably.
I don't think Crunch is run on every Crawdaunt as the main set is SD LO atm, but it's a possibility worth mentionning regarding the Banded version.

I thought about some MUs that could beat this for sure, such as :
FSight + Band Kartana (or SD LO) + Torna Taunt

Koff Spams + Heatran (Classic Banded Rilla + Tran or any Pex + Tran cores)

Lando Soft Sand + Gravity or Smack down (it's rare I admit)

Offensive Slowbro Galar (Rare too but still should 6-0)

Necrozma CM Rest Sweeper (rare 2)

Mixed Aegislash

Overall the team seems very solid, good work.
 
252+ Atk Choice Band Adaptability Crawdaunt Crunch vs. 252 HP / 48+ Def Tangrowth: 196-232 (48.5 - 57.4%) -- 94.1% chance to 2HKO
252+ Atk Choice Band Adaptability Crawdaunt Crunch vs. 252 HP / 248+ Def Clefable: 119-141 (30.2 - 35.7%) -- guaranteed 4HKO after Leftovers recovery

That's all I have to say about Crawdaunt, it shouldn't break through clef if you play well, but if it appears your leftovers, clefable has been weakened, then a single def drop can make you lose probably.
I don't think Crunch is run on every Crawdaunt as the main set is SD LO atm, but it's a possibility worth mentionning regarding the Banded version.

I thought about some MUs that could beat this for sure, such as :
FSight + Band Kartana (or SD LO) + Torna Taunt

Koff Spams + Heatran (Classic Banded Rilla + Tran or any Pex + Tran cores)

Lando Soft Sand + Gravity or Smack down (it's rare I admit)

Offensive Slowbro Galar (Rare too but still should 6-0)

Necrozma CM Rest Sweeper (rare 2)

Mixed Aegislash

Overall the team seems very solid, good work.
Definitely some good threats you included here! I definitely like the mixed evs on tang for fsight, but I agree banded crunch would be pretty difficult to play around.

I included some of these in the threatlist (albeit not super extensively), such as having to play around knock off carefully when you see Tran.

Nasty plot spa slowking g is almost an autoloss, but very rare. My own slowking g is the only thing that even somewhat checks in (I would argue without spd quag it is almost an impossible mu for any stall)

Between tang/mandi I am not too scared of gravity lando, but it is def a consideration

Cm photon rest necroz would probably be another autoloss, or at least incredibly difficult to play around, because it beats clef lol. If it's stored clef should be able to win the 1v1

I tried to make the team solid vs common stuff, but all these sets are still valid threats to the team, and should be considered

Thanks for the input!
 
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View attachment 325982
Introduction:

Currently OU is just pivot spam and a bunch of offensive play so I wanted to build a team that would do well vs most of that stuff. I also wanted to use Slowking G, because it's my fav new mon this generation, and one that I think is pretty good in OU. The tier feels like it is a bit of a MU fish, but I find that going into most MU's this team has at least given me a chance to win. I don't play many OU tours right now, and was just playing around on ladder, so figured I would post this team for anyone who wanted to use it.

First: Proof of Peak (s)
View attachment 325958View attachment 325960

Currently on the ladd in the top 500 I didn't think anyone had crossed 90 GXE, so I just thought it was cool that I crossed it one day on my main, and then the next day on an alt. On the alt account I managed to get on a some 30-40 game win streak with the team, giving me the idea to post it here.

THE TEAM

THE PROCESS

Slowking-Galar @ Assault Vest
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 148 SpA / 108 SpD
Quiet Nature
- Sludge Bomb
- Future Sight
- Flamethrower
- Earthquake

Whatever team I was going to build was going to start with this mon. Despite being an incredible wall that can switch in to most special attackers, this mon is single-handedly able to dent a vast amount of teams. Being able to absorb volt switch from scary special attackers, and actually dent others (unlike Chansey) means this mon can help force progress in many games. The set is somewhat standard for AV (having sludge bomb as primary STAB and for useful poisons, Fsight because its broken, and flamethrower for steels (particuarly Ferrothorn). Because Heatran is incredibly hard for stall to deal with, and scald does negligible vs Spd Heatran sets, I opted for Earthquake after finishing the rest of the team. Slowking-G does NOT like switching in to Heatran directly (while it still has leftovers), but is often vital in the the team effort to effectively deal with Heatran. The EVs allow it do be a strong special attacker, while capitalizing on the 1.5* boost that AV provides. Traditional Smogon sets run 252/176/80, but I have found the extra SpD to help in some matchups such as vs Magnezone. That being said, more SpA does also have its merits. (As an aside, most games I was even ok with this thing losing its AV, as long as I knew I could deal with the mons on the other team without it). Knock off hurts it, but after a few regens it will be fine, and able to always switch in and threaten something like Ferrothorn.

Toxapex @ Shed Shell
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Spe
- Scald
- Knock Off
- Recover
- Haze

I honestly don't think I can say much about what Pex does that hasn't already been said. It is an incredible tool for stall and balance alike, and generally used to switch into every mon that you aren't sure what it does. It eats everything, and hazes away everything else. This set is standard aside from the shed shell, which is vital in the effort to deal with Heatran. As soon as Heatran is knocked, it becomes far less effective. The ability to switch into Heatran, deliver the knock, and switch out is very helpful for this team. I use Pex as a Knock Off switchin many games, but often need to be careful in games where I see a Heatran. If a team does not have Heatran, Shed Shell is useless, and you can freely let Toxapex lose its item. Its EVS maximize its physical defense, which is generally what this thing does best this generation.


Chansey (F) @ Eviolite
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 248 HP / 252 Def / 8 SpD
Impish Nature
- Seismic Toss
- Soft-Boiled
- Toxic
- Stealth Rock

The first interchangeable mon on this team. (For Blissey, don't switch this thing for anything else pls). I think everyone knows what Blissey offers over Chansey this generation, with its ability to run HDB much more effectively. In my first build of this team, I used Mandibuzz over Tangrowth, and had two defoggers. This meant that Chansey was clearly better in most matchups than Blissey. After I decided that Tangrowth worked more favorably in more matchups, this became a much harder decision. What Chansey offers over Blissey is the ability to take defensive hits much better, which comes into play vs mons such as mixed Nidoking, which is a set that can be found (albeit somewhat uncommonly) this generation. It helps vs other physical attackers occasionally as well, such as excadrill (its not a great exca check obv), Mamoswine, etc. Chansey is this teams dedicated rocker (it isn't used as a teleport pivot like Blissey), but the set and EVS are otherwise standard. Use it like you use Chansey, just eat every SPA ever. Stoss is also invaluable chip for stall teams.


Corviknight @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Body Press
- Iron Defense
- Defog
- Roost

Probably the perfect defogger/mon. This mon does everything you could ever want a defogger to do. Live forever, check scary threats like Excadrill/Tapu Lele, Lando-T, Chomp, and pressure stall everything down. Again, the set is relatively standard for Corviknight, aside from potentially Iron Defense. ID is a tech employed on many stall teams, and one that I find pretty necessary on this team. It allows Corv to defog on mons such as SD lando and Chomp, and generally neutralize other threats such as flinches from SD Excadrill, or other setup mons. I really would not consider using any other set, after having seen how well this one has worked for me. You have to be careful if you see Magnezone (because this is not shed shell obviously), but this team traditionally has other answers for Mzone teams. If a team had spike stack AND Magnezone it would be problematic, but that is a team archetype that I very rarely see.


Clefable @ Leftovers
Ability: Unaware
EVs: 252 HP / 248 Def / 8 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Moonblast
- Calm Mind
- Soft-Boiled
- Heal Bell

Not to be a broken clock, but this IS the perfect stall mon. Amazing typing, amazing ability, and finally the chance to run that ability with a perfect healing move. Clefable serves as my teams cleric with heal bell, as well as backup (often primary) check to setup monsters like Garchomp. I loved running this back in the day vs Calm Mind Magearna, and watching as their +6 +6 stored powers did nothing vs +6 Spd unaware clef (and then doing 50 in return). Nowadays, CM serves a similar defensive role, allowing Clef to always defeat mons like CM Reuniclus 1v1 (barring crit). It also serves as a late game "sweeper," and in general, perfect mon.


Tangrowth
Ability: Regenerator
EVs: 252 HP / 48 Def / 208 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Giga Drain
- Knock Off
- Focus Blast
- Protect

I want to do something different than most RMT's, which is after explaining this mon and its set, offer up a completely different, viable alternative. This is definitely the set I customized the most to fill the weaknesses in this team. Firstly, we can see that there is no item. This is vital in the effort to stop mons such as Crawdaunt (band OR sd), as well as Bisharp. The chip I got on some mons from rocky helmet, or running HDB, simply wasn't worth the very tough position I was put in some games vs these mons. Next, we can see that the last slot is protect instead of something like sleep powder or sludge bomb. This ensures that against Slowbro or Slowking, whoever they teleport into will not be killing Tangrowth. Tangrowth will still take around 40% from future sight, but it can regen off most of this damage. It is not a check to future sight Slowking-Galar, which is its own story, but Tang does well for itself in most matchups. Focus Blast is for both SD Kartana and Bisharp, both of which would otherwise provide a big struggle (you still have to hit FB unfortunately). Knock off is self-explanatory on most sets, but I originally had Toxic on this mon to help vs stuff like mixed Dracozolt. The problem is without knock off this team is far too weak to ghosts like SD Aegislash, and in the end I could not justify Toxic>Knock off. In an alternative version where I used Mandibuzz, this team is very very solid, but has a glaring weakness to physical electric pokemons. Phys Electric mons are very uncommon, but dracozolt, arctozolt, and even zeraora were incredibly tough to play around. In general, I have found Tangrowth to be SLIGHTLY better on this team.

For anyone wondering, here is the Mandibuzz set

Mandibuzz (F) @ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Overcoat
EVs: 248 HP / 204 Def / 56 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Foul Play
- Defog
- Whirlwind
- Roost

This set creeps adamant Craw, which is vital in the effort against its SD sets. Aside from being my second defogger, and incredible fsight switchin, I loved using Whirwind after a Future Sight to get unstoppable kills vs more passive teams. It is an amazing Rillaboom and Kartana check, as well as pretty much every physical attacker. The one issue with Mandibuzz>Tangrowth was the teams glaring weakness to physical electric moves, but otherwise this mon is every bit as viable as Tangrowth. I achieved the 91 GXE with this team, and the 92 GXE with the Tangrowth variant. I will include pastes to both, in case people want to experiment between the two.

Threatlist:
Heatran- Even with the precautions I employed, Heatran will often take a kill. Without more offensively designed mons, such as Garchomp, it is incredibly difficult to beat Heatran with only passive Pokemon. The good news is, Heatran will usually only take one kill, if that, and the team can proceed to beat the rest of many others.
Gengar- Absolutely nightmarish. Chansey cannot touch this thing, and it hits very very hard. If using the Tangrowth variant, aside from Pex and Slowking, there is no counterplay. The good news is Slowking G can live a +2 LO shadow ball from full, and hurt it back with EQ. If LO, it will also die relatively quickly. If Non-LO, the same thing applies, but it is even harder to beat.
Fsight Slowking G+other breakers- Although not scary on its own, Slowking G is very very scary when paired with other dangerous physical attackers. I will often go into my own Slowk G to try to set up my own fsight on it, but it is a difficult mon to beat, and must be played around carefully.
Electrics- If using the Mandibuzz variant, physical electrics are incredibly difficult.
Magnezone- Losing Corv in some matchups can be dire, so it is crucial to play around Mzone carefully.
Tapu Lele- Specifically specs with tbolt can be very scary. It is playable, with good predictions, but difficult.
Other physical threats- Typically, this team will lose to physical threats far quicker than SPA threats, and has the potential to be overwhelmed. Even mons such as Urshifu Water can be scary, if Toxapex were to die.
Despite these threats, as I've said, I do like this team vs a lot of what OU has right now.

Replays:
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8ou-1308836146-s2o4c6qte1e7z0yhughe5hedtjiqyrwpw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8ou-1308826480-7ih9vekhtivb1ntzte0utpbg2vbfcijpw
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8ou-1308815122-hdb9rqwje77eseu5xoflrmchex5ure0pw (this MU felt like pure stallbreak)+ Opp prob misplayed end
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8ou-1275058786-8o1y4spjbccwmwxi97p4sbdvijhaczjpw (Mandi version, I love how this replay demonstrates its perseverance, with decent play)

Imports (s)
https://pokepast.es/59f49dc6f8b354f5 (Tang version)
https://pokepast.es/b6eb02fbf4ac0755 (Mandi version)
Edit: someone told me heal bell is blocked by soundproof so make it aromatherapy lol

Thanks for reading this far if ya did!
Hey man, great team. I really don’t have anything that hasn’t already been said, but since you’re running ID on Corv I wonder if it wouldn’t be more prudent to run a more spdef invested set to deal with mons such as kantonian slowking and slowbro, glowking, and kyurem and the like a little bit better. I also think this this team could further benefit from spikes as well through some role compression, but im not sure what mon you could replace, as each mon does it’s job very well.
 
Hey man, great team. I really don’t have anything that hasn’t already been said, but since you’re running ID on Corv I wonder if it wouldn’t be more prudent to run a more spdef invested set to deal with mons such as kantonian slowking and slowbro, glowking, and kyurem and the like a little bit better. I also think this this team could further benefit from spikes as well through some role compression, but im not sure what mon you could replace, as each mon does it’s job very well.
Also, this team is really weak to knock off, +2 from bish and weav annihilates pex and corv on the switch, and mandi and tang gets OKHO’d by knock into either iron head by bish or crash by weav, I’d suggest running no item over shed shell on pex to alleviate this problem, but then you aren’t as solid against tran either.
 
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Hey man, great team. I really don’t have anything that hasn’t already been said, but since you’re running ID on Corv I wonder if it wouldn’t be more prudent to run a more spdef invested set to deal with mons such as kantonian slowking and slowbro, glowking, and kyurem and the like a little bit better. I also think this this team could further benefit from spikes as well through some role compression, but im not sure what mon you could replace, as each mon does it’s job very well.
Hey thanks for the reply! Changing Corv's EVS to SpD is definitely a change that I probably wouldn't want to make on this team honestly. The defense EVs are crucial to live a lot of the physical attackers in the tier, Iron Defense simply isn't enough of a blanket on its own. Without changing corv for skarm there isn't really room for Spikes, and it just isn't a change worthwhile for this particular team (maybe for some others). As for the bisharp matchup, tangrowth is the primary check right now, but you have to hit focus which I agree makes it shaky. I'm less scared of weav in general, because it has a pretty tough time breaking pex, corv, AND clef.
 
Hey thanks for the reply! Changing Corv's EVS to SpD is definitely a change that I probably wouldn't want to make on this team honestly. The defense EVs are crucial to live a lot of the physical attackers in the tier, Iron Defense simply isn't enough of a blanket on its own. Without changing corv for skarm there isn't really room for Spikes, and it just isn't a change worthwhile for this particular team (maybe for some others). As for the bisharp matchup, tangrowth is the primary check right now, but you have to hit focus which I agree makes it shaky. I'm less scared of weav in general, because it has a pretty tough time breaking pex, corv, AND clef.
Can I ask what the defense ev’s are crucial for exactly? Because corv already hard walls drill and fire fang-less chomp, as well as lando-t, which are all the mons you mentioned for your corv description. Running some spdef investment would allow you to take hits from lele, the bro twins, lati twins, and various other special attacks better. But I digress.

Also you mention that you’re not worried about the weav and bish matchup, but if fable takes any kind of chip it could look bad. Here are some calcs to show that:

+2 252 Atk Weavile Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Corviknight: 208-246 (52 - 61.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock (Guaranteed 2HKO with Icicile Crash after)

+2 252 Atk Weavile Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Toxapex: 160-189 (52.6 - 62.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock (Chance to 2HKO with a following Knock Off)

252+ Atk Choice Band Bisharp Iron Head vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Clefable: 368-434 (93.4 - 110.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock

+2 252+ Atk Black Glasses Bisharp Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tangrowth: 252-297 (62.3 - 73.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock (Guaranteed 2HKO with Iron head after)

+2 252+ Atk Black Glasses Bisharp Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Toxapex: 217-256 (71.3 - 84.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock

As you can see these 2 mons can be devastating if Clef isnt kept healthy. Item-less Pex is pretty common on stall, and might help remedy this issue somewhat. Also seeing as you have glowking for tran i dont think shed shell is as important on Pex. I also don't know how you would feel about a Clef set featuring Cosmic Power+Stored Power, but it could provide you with a wincon if dark types are removed.
 
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Can I ask what the defense ev’s are crucial for exactly? Because corv already hard walls drill and fire fang-less chomp, as well as lando-t, which are all the mons you mentioned for your corv description. Running some spdef investment would allow you to take hits from lele, the bro twins, lati twins, and various other special attacks better. But I digress.

Also you mention that you’re not worried about the weav and bish matchup, but if fable takes any kind of chip it could look bad. Here are some calcs to show that:

+2 252 Atk Weavile Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Corviknight: 208-246 (52 - 61.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock (Guaranteed 2HKO with Icicile Crash after)

+2 252 Atk Weavile Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Toxapex: 160-189 (52.6 - 62.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock (Chance to 2HKO with a following Knock Off)

252+ Atk Choice Band Bisharp Iron Head vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Clefable: 368-434 (93.4 - 110.1%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock

+2 252+ Atk Black Glasses Bisharp Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Tangrowth: 252-297 (62.3 - 73.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock (Guaranteed 2HKO with Iron head after)

+2 252+ Atk Black Glasses Bisharp Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Toxapex: 217-256 (71.3 - 84.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock

As you can see these 2 mons can be devastating if Clef isnt kept healthy. Item-less Pex is pretty common on stall, and might help remedy this issue somewhat. Also seeing as you have glowking for tran i dont think shed shell is as important on Pex. I also don't know how you would feel about a Clef set featuring Cosmic Power+Stored Power, but it could provide you with a wincon if dark types are removed.
I'm not going to say corv is completely optimized, because it's EVS probably aren't, but if you're referring to making it a lot of Spd it simply does not work. Even +2 stone edge from something like Garchomp or Lando would put corv in extreme danger, and make it a far less effective hazard removal vs these mons. Other mons defense EVs can help with include obstagoon, melmetal, and a ton of other physical attackers. Even rock slide/flinches from excadrill would be a threat, not to mention body press becoming weaker. These calcs may look scary but honestly I think +2 weav calcs would look pretty bad vs any mon lol. For one weav would need to predict vs toxapex (like sd'ing twice so i can't just recover after I lose my item and haze away the sd, or get some fair chip on Clef). Weavile also does not set up on all that much. I cannot drop shed shell because slowking G does not check heatran on it's own. I think I've established that bisharp is a threat, because of the need to sometimes hit FB. The calc you provided on knock was a bit off though bc it is itemless
 
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I'm not going to say corv is completely optimized, because it's EVS probably aren't, but if you're referring to making it a lot of Spd it simply does not work. Even +2 stone edge from something like Garchomp or Lando would put corv in extreme danger, and make it a far less effective hazard removal vs these mons. Other mons defense EVs can help with include obstagoon, melmetal, and a ton of other physical attackers. Even rock slide/flinches from excadrill would be a threat, not to mention body press becoming weaker. These calcs may look scary but honestly I think +2 weav calcs would look pretty bad vs any mon lol. For one weav would need to predict vs toxapex (like sd'ing twice so i can't just recover after I lose my item and haze away the sd, or get some fair chip on Clef). Weavile also does not set up on all that much. I cannot drop shed shell because slowking G does not check heatran on it's own. I think I've established that bisharp is a threat, because of the need to sometimes hit FB. The calc you provided on knock was a bit off though bc it is itemless
All fair points, and my bad on the bish calc, and you clearly got a good hold on this team. You mentioned in your threats list urshifu and heatran, something ive been mucking around with on stall recently is jellicent, its a great counter to urshifu (as long as its not pads t-punch), and can check heatran as well. This is the set ive been using:

Jellicent @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 248 HP / 172 Def / 88 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Will-O-Wisp/Toxic
- Strength Sap
- Taunt/Scald
- Hex

You can play around with the ev's if you want to be more specially bulky, really fun set that is able to eat alot of physical hits and strength sap up to force out a switch, in which you can then will-o or toxic the incoming mon. Its not amazing but its fun over the usual fat stuff you see on stall teams.
 
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All fair points, and my bad on the bish calc, and you clearly got a good hold on this team. You mentioned in your threats list urshifu and heatran, something ive been mucking around with on stall recently is jellicent, its a great counter to urshifu (as long as its not pads t-punch), and can check heatran as well. This is the set ive been using:

Jellicent @ Leftovers
Ability: Water Absorb
EVs: 248 HP / 172 Def / 88 SpD
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Will-O-Wisp/Toxic
- Strength Sap
- Taunt/Scald
- Hex

You can play around with the ev's if you want to be more specially bulky, really fun set that is able to eat alot of physical hits and strength sap up to force out a switch, in which you can then will-o or toxic the incoming mon. Its not amazing but its fun over the usual fat stuff you see on stall teams.
I definitely want to build other stall teams in the future, particularly one with double water, whether it be slowking+pex, quagsire+pex, or even jellicent+pex. Thanks for the suggestion!
 
Hey 100%GXE ! I just wanted to say that your team is really, really good and very well built. Like a month a go I came out with a similar team that featured Slowking (not galarian form) and RH Toxapex for Cinderace. I have just recently switched to Shed Shell variant to help against Heatran as my main check was mainly Slowking. My set for Slowking was to stop things like Lele, Heatran and with the Protect Tech for Future Sights. I went to AV Tangrowth and this allowed me to better check Zolt and Electric-type Pokémon. I completely agree that Tangrowth is quite vital for stall right now checking things that Corviknight/Skarmory cannot (in my stall team I went Skarmory to play with Spikes over Defog in a more offensive way to put pressure against other teams but with worse matchup against Ferrothorn builts).

I really think your team is amazing and it has some flaws as any team. The fact that I reached to a point/team very similar to yours makes me think that this is the main archetype for stall: Clef + Skarm/Corvik + Pex + Slowking + Chansey/Blissey + Tangrowth. However, with Galarian Slowking over Slowking you need to be aware of Tapu Lele's Life Orb CM sets running Psyshock and Moonblast as they can break through your team.

I share with you my team here as I wanted to do a RMT or a guideline post for stall in the current metagame. So if you would like to participate/help with this foreseeable post I would be so glad :).

By the way, thanks for sharing your thoughts on the metagame and your impressive team :) cya Pokémaniacs :heart:
I know this is the other guy's RMT but... 4 def Calm Blissey... I get that you're running the same "core" but maybe switch to a Blissey that doesn't straight up die to uninvested un-STABbed U-turns?

As for OP running Relaxed Toxapex with 8 speed outruns Slow twins while giving a 10% Knock Off damage boost at the cost of less than a third of 1% bulk in both defenses. Might be worth the literal 0.3% durability loss to sting Tapu Lele etc more.

Also since literally all of your threat list are special attackers I would just max out Slowking's sp def. You're running a stall team, your goal is generally survival not straight up KOs. 252/252 Sassy survives +2 Gengar Shadow Ball, 5HKO from Heatran EP, Regenerate all damage from anything but Specs Psyshock from Lele, and reduce damage received from Volt Switches.

Other than that I can't see anything else. Super cool team!
 
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I know this is the other guy's RMT but... 4 def Calm Blissey... Also practically 6-0ed from full by Crawdaunt. I get that you're running the same "core" but maybe switch to a Blissey that doesn't straight up die to uninvested un-STABbed U-turns.

As for OP running Relaxed Toxapex with 8 speed outruns Slow twins while giving a 10% Knock Off damage boost at the cost of less than a third of 1% bulk in both defenses. Might be worth the literal 0.3% durability loss to sting Tapu Lele etc more.

Also since literally all of your threat list are special attackers I would just max out Slowking's sp def. You're running a stall team, your goal is generally survival not straight up KOs. 252/252 Sassy survives +2 Gengar Shadow Ball, 5HKO from Heatran EP, Regenerate all damage from anything but Specs Psyshock from Lele, and reduce damage received from Volt Switches.

Other than that I can't see anything else. Super cool team!
Thanks for the reply! Upon consideration, bold is a mistake and the extra damage on knock off is worth a change in nature. Honestly, even dropping SPA would have been better, but relaxed with 8 speed is a good solution. As for slowking, I have been thinking about its evs recently. One of the biggest threats to this team is tapu lele, because of psyshock. Rather than 252/252 calm, I have been thinking about adding some defense, as a way to better scout vs psyshock. In either case, dropping some spa seems beneficial. Thanks again!
(Ended up dropping speed, the help in the TR matchup was bit better than creeping King)
 
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