[overview]
**Draft Order**: Round 2 onwards
**Price Range**: 15-16 points
**Overview**: Boasting massive Attack, solid Speed, Beast Boost, and a good defensive profile, Kartana is a versatile offensive Pokemon that can do it all. It can easily be a wallbreaker, cleaner, or setup sweeper, making it difficult for opponents to prep for. All of this versatility is not without downsides though; Kartana's abysmal Special Defense means even the weakest of Gusts probably has a chance to KO it. It can also end up very prediction-reliant, as it gets a lot of value from holding Choice items, meaning opponents can exploit it if it is locked into the wrong move.
[strategy comments]
Common Roles
========
**Cleaner**: With Beast Boost and a Choice Scarf, one KO can easily lead to Kartana cleaning up games against weakened teams. Even without a Choice Scarf, it can still clean up games as long as faster foes are eliminated.
**Wallbreaker**: When holding a Choice Band, Kartana can break almost any wall that does not resist its attacks. Swords Dance can also make it a potent wallbreaker, especially when paired with a Z-Crystal to catch a foe by surprise.
**Setup Sweeper**With a minus Attack nature and 19 Attack IVs, Kartana can boost its Speed with Beast Boost to outspeed foes after a KO while still retaining the ability to switch moves, which is often necessary to sweep.
Common Moves
========
**Primary STAB Moves**: Leaf Blade, Smart Strike
**Setup Moves**: Swords Dance
**Utility Moves**: Defog, Substitute, Toxic, Synthesis, Brick Break
**Coverage**: Knock Off, Sacred Sword, Return, Psycho Cut, X-Scissor
Niche Moves
========
**Giga Impact**: When combined with a Z-Crystal, (AC) Giga Impact becomes a powerful nuke that can take out almost any foe.
**Tailwind**: Tailwind can allows Kartana to outspeed almost all foes, although it costs a turn to set up and lasts for a very limited time, which can make it difficult to pull off.
Common Items
========
**Choice Band**: Choice Band allows Kartana to be a powerful wallbreaker that requires opponents to play very carefully around it, especially when combined with Beast Boost.
**Choice Scarf**: Choice Scarf combined with Beast Boost makes Kartana a powerful late-game cleaner, as one KO is all it needs to clean through most teams.
**Other Damage-boosting Items**: If the ability to switch moves is valuable in a matchup, items like Life Orb and Expert Belt can allow Kartana to maintain its damage output without being locked into a single move.
**Z-Crystal** Kartana is one of the best users of Z-Moves, as one of the biggest difficulties in enabling it is usually getting the first KO. By holding a Z-Crystal, it can very easily get the first KO it needs or get a surprise KO on a foe that would otherwise wall it.
Niche Items
========
**Assault Vest**: Kartana has an abysmal Special Defense, but Assault Vest can allow it to survive extra hits, which can be essential in beating a would-be check.
**Lum Berry** Status conditions like paralysis and burn can be game-ending for Kartana. Lum Berry provides one-time relief, which can allow it to deal with status spreaders.
**Protective Pads** Since Kartana can be punished heavily by Rocky Helmet and contact-triggered abilities like Flame Body, Protective Pads can minimize chip damage that it takes over the course of the game.
**Resistance Berries**: Sometimes damage-boosting items can be unnecessary, and resistance Berries can instead provide more value, allowing Kartana to set up safely.
**Salac Berry**: Salac Berry offers Substitute sets a way to boost Speed, helping Kartana sweep and allowing it to beat foes one-on-one that it might not be able to otherwise.
**Focus Sash**: Focus Sash can allow Kartana guaranteed setup opportunities, which can help it beat foes that would normally threaten it out.
Draft Strategy
========
Kartana is one of the strongest Pokemon in the format, and it benefits from teammates that can get it on the field safely and wear down foes so that it can get easy boosts with Beast Boost. It also lacks defensively so having teammates to soak up the special attack foes can fire off freely into Kartana is also important.
**Entry Hazard Support**: Kartana appreciates both solid entry hazard removal and setters. Hazards set by teammates like Landorus-T and Skarmory can allow it to get vital KOs to begin snowballing, and keeping hazards off its own side with the help of partners like Tertacruel and Rotom-W keep it from being worn down.
**Pivots**: Pokemon like Rotom-W and Uxie that can take hits and bring Kartana in safely are great teammates, helping it maintain health throughout the game.
**Specially Defensive Pokemon**: Special attackers can easily KO Kartana because of it awful Special Defense, so having teammates like Reuniclus and Clefable that can switch into those hits can keep its team from being weakened by the barrage of special attacks.
**Fire-resistant Teammates**: Since Fire-type attacks hit Kartana super effectively and Fire-types match up very well defensively against it, having teammates like Volcanion and Slowbro that can safely switch into these attacks are very helpful.
Checks and Counters
========
**Special Attacks**: Kartana gets KOed to almost any reasonable special attack, but foes like Zapdos and Mega Charizard Y can be especially annoying because of their solid type matchup against it.
**Fire- and Flying-types**: While Kartana can hit Fire- and Flying-type Pokemon neutrally, their ability to switch into its STAB attacks along with their access to special attacks means they can be quite the pain for it to handle. Fire-types are especially threatening with their ability to almost always OHKO Kartana.
**Faster Pokemon**: While Kartana has a decent Speed, foes like Latios, Mega Diancie, and Tornadus-T that naturally outspeed it and foes holding a Choice Scarf can force it out quite easily.
**Chip Damage**: Since all of Kartana's attacks make contact and entry hazards are frequently an issue, it can get worn down quickly throughout the course of the game by Rocky Helmet and hazard chip damage. Pokemon like Zapdos, Volcarona, and Ferrothorn that further punish it for using contact moves are especially annoying for it to deal with.
**Hidden Power Fire**: Because of Kartana's 4x weakness to Fire, almost any foe can run Hidden Power Fire to check it.
**Priority Moves**: While Kartana's typing and solid Defense mean most priority attacks don't do much, they can finish it off after it gets weakened by Rocky Helmet or other chip damage. Additionally, Vacuum Wave can be a very reliable way for foes to KO it.
[credits]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/termnal.404799/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/odinrm.613514/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/techno.527276/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/techno.527276/
**Draft Order**: Round 2 onwards
**Price Range**: 15-16 points
**Overview**: Boasting massive Attack, solid Speed, Beast Boost, and a good defensive profile, Kartana is a versatile offensive Pokemon that can do it all. It can easily be a wallbreaker, cleaner, or setup sweeper, making it difficult for opponents to prep for. All of this versatility is not without downsides though; Kartana's abysmal Special Defense means even the weakest of Gusts probably has a chance to KO it. It can also end up very prediction-reliant, as it gets a lot of value from holding Choice items, meaning opponents can exploit it if it is locked into the wrong move.
[strategy comments]
Common Roles
========
**Cleaner**: With Beast Boost and a Choice Scarf, one KO can easily lead to Kartana cleaning up games against weakened teams. Even without a Choice Scarf, it can still clean up games as long as faster foes are eliminated.
**Wallbreaker**: When holding a Choice Band, Kartana can break almost any wall that does not resist its attacks. Swords Dance can also make it a potent wallbreaker, especially when paired with a Z-Crystal to catch a foe by surprise.
**Setup Sweeper**With a minus Attack nature and 19 Attack IVs, Kartana can boost its Speed with Beast Boost to outspeed foes after a KO while still retaining the ability to switch moves, which is often necessary to sweep.
Common Moves
========
**Primary STAB Moves**: Leaf Blade, Smart Strike
**Setup Moves**: Swords Dance
**Utility Moves**: Defog, Substitute, Toxic, Synthesis, Brick Break
**Coverage**: Knock Off, Sacred Sword, Return, Psycho Cut, X-Scissor
Niche Moves
========
**Giga Impact**: When combined with a Z-Crystal, (AC) Giga Impact becomes a powerful nuke that can take out almost any foe.
**Tailwind**: Tailwind can allows Kartana to outspeed almost all foes, although it costs a turn to set up and lasts for a very limited time, which can make it difficult to pull off.
Common Items
========
**Choice Band**: Choice Band allows Kartana to be a powerful wallbreaker that requires opponents to play very carefully around it, especially when combined with Beast Boost.
**Choice Scarf**: Choice Scarf combined with Beast Boost makes Kartana a powerful late-game cleaner, as one KO is all it needs to clean through most teams.
**Other Damage-boosting Items**: If the ability to switch moves is valuable in a matchup, items like Life Orb and Expert Belt can allow Kartana to maintain its damage output without being locked into a single move.
**Z-Crystal** Kartana is one of the best users of Z-Moves, as one of the biggest difficulties in enabling it is usually getting the first KO. By holding a Z-Crystal, it can very easily get the first KO it needs or get a surprise KO on a foe that would otherwise wall it.
Niche Items
========
**Assault Vest**: Kartana has an abysmal Special Defense, but Assault Vest can allow it to survive extra hits, which can be essential in beating a would-be check.
**Lum Berry** Status conditions like paralysis and burn can be game-ending for Kartana. Lum Berry provides one-time relief, which can allow it to deal with status spreaders.
**Protective Pads** Since Kartana can be punished heavily by Rocky Helmet and contact-triggered abilities like Flame Body, Protective Pads can minimize chip damage that it takes over the course of the game.
**Resistance Berries**: Sometimes damage-boosting items can be unnecessary, and resistance Berries can instead provide more value, allowing Kartana to set up safely.
**Salac Berry**: Salac Berry offers Substitute sets a way to boost Speed, helping Kartana sweep and allowing it to beat foes one-on-one that it might not be able to otherwise.
**Focus Sash**: Focus Sash can allow Kartana guaranteed setup opportunities, which can help it beat foes that would normally threaten it out.
Draft Strategy
========
Kartana is one of the strongest Pokemon in the format, and it benefits from teammates that can get it on the field safely and wear down foes so that it can get easy boosts with Beast Boost. It also lacks defensively so having teammates to soak up the special attack foes can fire off freely into Kartana is also important.
**Entry Hazard Support**: Kartana appreciates both solid entry hazard removal and setters. Hazards set by teammates like Landorus-T and Skarmory can allow it to get vital KOs to begin snowballing, and keeping hazards off its own side with the help of partners like Tertacruel and Rotom-W keep it from being worn down.
**Pivots**: Pokemon like Rotom-W and Uxie that can take hits and bring Kartana in safely are great teammates, helping it maintain health throughout the game.
**Specially Defensive Pokemon**: Special attackers can easily KO Kartana because of it awful Special Defense, so having teammates like Reuniclus and Clefable that can switch into those hits can keep its team from being weakened by the barrage of special attacks.
**Fire-resistant Teammates**: Since Fire-type attacks hit Kartana super effectively and Fire-types match up very well defensively against it, having teammates like Volcanion and Slowbro that can safely switch into these attacks are very helpful.
Checks and Counters
========
**Special Attacks**: Kartana gets KOed to almost any reasonable special attack, but foes like Zapdos and Mega Charizard Y can be especially annoying because of their solid type matchup against it.
**Fire- and Flying-types**: While Kartana can hit Fire- and Flying-type Pokemon neutrally, their ability to switch into its STAB attacks along with their access to special attacks means they can be quite the pain for it to handle. Fire-types are especially threatening with their ability to almost always OHKO Kartana.
**Faster Pokemon**: While Kartana has a decent Speed, foes like Latios, Mega Diancie, and Tornadus-T that naturally outspeed it and foes holding a Choice Scarf can force it out quite easily.
**Chip Damage**: Since all of Kartana's attacks make contact and entry hazards are frequently an issue, it can get worn down quickly throughout the course of the game by Rocky Helmet and hazard chip damage. Pokemon like Zapdos, Volcarona, and Ferrothorn that further punish it for using contact moves are especially annoying for it to deal with.
**Hidden Power Fire**: Because of Kartana's 4x weakness to Fire, almost any foe can run Hidden Power Fire to check it.
**Priority Moves**: While Kartana's typing and solid Defense mean most priority attacks don't do much, they can finish it off after it gets weakened by Rocky Helmet or other chip damage. Additionally, Vacuum Wave can be a very reliable way for foes to KO it.
[credits]
Written by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/termnal.404799/
Quality checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/odinrm.613514/
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/techno.527276/
Grammar checked by:
https://www.smogon.com/forums/members/techno.527276/
Last edited:
