[OVERVIEW]
* Due to Magearna's typing in Steel / Fairy and good natural bulk, it holds a solid niche as one of the strongest counters to Xerneas, as well as a reliable switch-in to nigh-unwallable attackers such as Yveltal and Deoxys-A.
* Access to the near-exclusive Heart Swap allows Magearna to be one of the very few defensive counterplay options against Refresh Calm Mind Arceus formes.
* Its access to of Heal Bell also allows it to provide cleric support to its team.
* The pivoting move Volt Switch sets Magearna apart from most of Xerneas's answers; the likes of defensive Necrozma-DM and Chansey are vulnerable to Shadow Tag users, but Magearna can switch out against them with said move.
* Lack of access to Toxic means Magearna can do very little to its common switch-ins and counters.
* Magearna is rather dependent on its resistance to attacks to function as a wall, and this leaves it vulnerable to wallbreakers such as Primal Kyogre and Mega Lucario. While it has only two weaknesses in Ground and Fire, they are very common, and this makes Magearna quite easy to force out.
* Ground-types in particular block Volt Switch, making Magearna a momentum drain rather than a momentum generator in many occasions.
* As a counter to Xerneas, Magearna faces competition from Necrozma-DM, which has much more of an offensive presence, access to Toxic to punish its switch-ins, and the ability to set Stealth Rock.
* Lastly, the omnipresence of Primal Groudon as the single best forme of Pokemon in the tier is detrimental to Magearna's viability. Most of the time, said threat switches into Magearna with impunity thanks to its resistance to Fleur Cannon and immunity to Volt Switch, causing a loss of momentum as Magearna is forced out.
[SET]
name: Specially Defensive
move 1: Heart Swap
move 2: Fleur Cannon
move 3: Volt Switch
move 4: Pain Split / Heal Bell
item: Leftovers
ability: Soul-Heart
nature: Calm
evs: 252 HP / 4 Def / 252 SpD
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
* Heart Swap removes boosts from sweepers such as Geomancy Xerneas and Calm Mind Arceus formes, rendering them powerless.
* Fleur Cannon is a STAB move that is used to wear down Primal Groudon as well as OHKOing common threats like Mega Salamence and Marshadow while heavily damaging Mega Lucario and Giratina.
* Volt Switch allows Magearna to generate momentum against non-Ground-types and lets it escape from Shadow Tag users such as Mega Gengar and Gothitelle.
* Pain Split is the only way for Magerna to stay healthy along with Leftovers recovery by taking advantage of bulky foes like Ho-Oh, Chansey, and support Arceus formes.
* Heal Bell is used to provide cleric support, but bear in mind that Magearna will be worn down even faster without Pain Split.
Set Details
========
* A fully specially defensive EV spread maximizes Magearna's bulk to sponge hits from Xerneas, Yveltal, and Deoxys-A. It also provides Magearna with a chance to escape an OHKO from Naganadel's +2 Fire Blast most of the time from full HP and retaliate with Fleur Cannon.
* Leftovers prevents Magearna from being worn down too quickly by providing it with a passive recovery.
* Soul-Heart is Magearna's only available ability, which has the situational use of increasing its Special Attack whenever a foe faints.
Usage Tips
========
* Magearna should be switched into threats it walls, with the most common ones being Xerneas, Yveltal, Deoxys-A, and support Arceus formes, to absorb damage that its teammates would otherwise have a hard time handling.
* It is worth noting that Magearna can make a use of its Steel typing to switch into the majority of the support Arceus formes and passive foes like Lugia and Chansey to absorb Toxic.
* Due to Magearna's predictable and passive moveset, the opposing team will almost always switch into threats like Primal Groudon, Necrozma-DM, and Ho-Oh that do not mind any attacking moves from Magearna and will offensively force it out. The former one especially blocks Volt Switch, so one should consider double switching before mindlessly pressing it with Magearna. If there is a risk involved in double switching, it is better to simply use Fleur Cannon or Heal Bell and switch out afterwards.
* Especially if one's team is reliant on Magearna as a check to Xerneas, Dugtrio should be avoided by any means necessary; although it is OHKOed by Fleur Cannon on switch, it can trap Magearna by switching in on a predicted Volt Switch or simply double switching in and proceeding to OHKO Magearna next turn.
* Although Magearna is good at taking special attacks, it is always beneficial to scout for unexpected coverage moves such as Fire Blast and Earth Power from Arceus formes and Heat Wave from Yveltal, as these will heavily damage Magearna, which is detrimental due to its lack of reliable recovery. Especially in the case of Calm Mind Arceus formes, they will aim to lure in Magearna and wear it down with their coverage moves to put it in a range of boosted attacks. Xerneas is inclined to wear down Magearna with multiple use of Hidden Power Ground or Hidden Power Fire, which are quite weak without Geomancy boosts but are going to put Magearna into range of a boosted attack later in the match.
Team Options
========
* Magearna secures its spot in many archetypes thanks to the role compression it offers as a check to dangerous special attackers, switch-in to Toxic, and cleric.
* Zygarde-C is one of the best partners for Magearna to form a defensive core with; it switches into Fire-types for Magearna and is a very strong check to Primal Groudon and essentially is a blanket check to most physical attackers in the tier that overpower Magearna. Magearna in return switches into Fairy- and Dragon-type attacks as well as Ice Beam from support Arceus formes. If successfully used, Volt Switch also brings in Zygarde-C safely, making Zygarde's Power Construct safer and easier to activate.
* Support Arceus formes are alternative ways to check Primal Groudon; Arceus-Ground offensively handles Primal Groudon while it can set up Stealth Rock to ensure Ho-Oh is harshly punished every time it switches into Magearna. Arceus-Water is a more reliable switch-in to Primal Groudon defensively and uses Defog to remove Spikes from the field, which is one of the most detrimental factors to Magearna's longevity.
* Mega Salamence is a solid check to Primal Groudon and appreciates Magearna acting as an effective switch-in to most Arceus formes and Ice Beam while taking on most Fairy-types.
* Ho-Oh alleviates Magearna's role as a specially defensive wall thanks to Regenerator and threatens the Steel-types that switch into Magearna without much concern, as well as checking Primal Groudon sets without a Rock-type move and support variants of Arceus-Ground. It appreciates Magearna's ability to either switch into Toxic or remove such status ailments with Heal Bell.
* Primal Groudon threatens Steel-types as well and sets up Stealth Rock for the same purpose as Arceus-Ground. It can lure support Arceus formes that can persistently take hits from Magearna and cripple them with Toxic or overpower them after using Swords Dance. It can take more offensive approach against said foes thanks to Magearna's Heal Bell curing Primal Groudon of a potential Toxic.
* Mega Sableye provides entry hazard control against passive hazard setters such as Ferrothorn while acting as a solid check to Marshadow and Extreme Killer Arceus. Magearna switches into Fairy-type attacks and Calm Mind Arceus formes that overpower Mega Sableye in return.
* In order for Magearna to be the most efficient, its team must have methods to punish Ground-types switching into Magearna and blocking Volt Switch. Spikes from Ferrothorn and Klefki and Toxic Spikes from Toxapex make opponents think twice before attempting to bring such foes in to take advantage of Magearna, as the entry hazards will wear them down fast.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
* Magearna is a one-dimensional Pokémon due to its inability to employ offensive sets and get them to function well in practice with its low Speed tier despite the many coverage and utility moves available.
* When using Heal Bell, forgoing Leftovers and running Normalium Z lets Magearna fully restore its health using Z-Heal Bell, but the lack of Leftovers means that Magearna will be worn down much more easily with residual damage, and therefore this option wouldn't have significant improvement on longevity other than letting Magearna recover in a pinch.
* Flash Cannon may be an appealing STAB move due to its ability to hit Fairy-types, but this forgoes the ability to dent Dragon- and Fighting-types and turns Magearna into setup fodder against the significant portion of the metagame. In addition, a Fairy Aura-boosted Fleur Cannon already OHKOes Xerneas after Magearna steals its Geomancy boosts with Heart Swap, and for this reason, Flash Cannon can't be justified over Fleur Cannon.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Ground-types**: The presence of Ground-types is simply a bane to Magearna's effectiveness. Primal Groudon and Arceus-Ground can switch into Magearna and easily take away momentum with impunity thanks to the former's resistance to Fleur Cannon and the latter's access to Recover. A single misplay from Magearna against Dugtrio leads it to getting trapped and falling prey to Tectonic Rage.
**Fire-types**: Ho-Oh takes next to no damage from any attack from Magearna thanks to its massive Special Defense stat and Regenerator, which allow it to shrug off even a super effective Volt Switch. While Mega Blaziken struggles to take Fleur Cannon, it easily OHKOes Magearna with Flare Blitz or sets up Swords Dance on the forced switch and proceeds to rampage through Magearna's team if checks are insufficient.
**Coverage Moves**: Support Arceus formes, especially the offensive variants with Calm Mind, tend to run Earth Power or Fire Blast as a coverage move, which does a chunk of damage to Magerna. Fire-type coverage moves from Yveltal, Mega Mewtwo Y, and Naganadel can 2HKO Magearna. Earthquake is commonly employed by physical attackers such as Mega Salamence, Ultra Necrozma, and Rayquaza that would otherwise have a hard time against Steel-types.
**Steel-types**: Although they do not like losing momentum by switching into Volt Switch, Necrozma-DM and Ferrothorn are persistent switch-ins to Magearna due to their resistance to Fleur Cannon, good bulk, and access to recovery options. Offensive variants of Necrozma-DM can either set up or do heavy damage to Magearna with any attack it commonly carries, while defensive ones can freely set up Stealth Rock and don't mind chip damage thanks to their access to recovery. Ferrothorn uses Magearna as a fodder for setting up Spikes, an entry hazard that significantly reduces Magearna's longevity.
**Physical Attackers**: Due to the fact that Magearna is mandated to run a specially defensive spread to fulfill its role and is dependent on its resistances to switch into threats it is supposed to handle, powerful physical attackers such as Marshadow, Mega Lucario, and Swords Dance Arceus formes can easily pressure or weaken it. Most of them do not like directly switching into Fleur Cannon, however.
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