[Overview]
<p>Mamoswine is one of the very few Ice-types that stand tall in the DW metagame due to both its typing, which grants it a neutrality to Stealth Rock as well as an immunity to both hail and sandstorm, and its fantastic offensive coverage, which allows Mamoswine to solely rely on its STAB moves in order to crush the opponent. Our shaggy friend also has a mammoth (excuse the pun) base 130 Attack, which basically translates as "whatever doesn't resist its moves will get pulverized." Its Dream World ability, Thick Fat, grants it a neutrality to Fire and a resistance to Ice, making Mamoswine one of the few Pokemon that resists the famous BoltBeam combination.</p>
<p>It's not all good news for Mamoswine though. It has a slew of weaknesses to common types including Fighting, Water, Grass and Steel. Furthermore, base 80 Speed often just isn't enough for the fast-paced Dream World metagame, and a weakness to common priority moves such as Mach Punch and Bullet Punch is unfortunate. However, don't let this put you off from using Mamoswine because it's a very powerful Pokemon and an excellent answer to fast and dangerous threats such as Garchomp, Dragonite and Thundurus that lurk the tier.</p>
[SET]
name: Physical Attacker
move 1: Ice Shard
move 2: Icicle Crash
move 3: Earthquake
move 4: Stone Edge / Stealth Rock
item: Life Orb / Choice Band
ability: Thick Fat
nature: Adamant / Jolly
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>This is the most straightforward and immediately threatening set that Mamoswine can run. Ice Shard is the main move on this set due to its sheer utility. A massive number of common Pokemon in the Dream World metagame are weak to it, including Garchomp, Dragonite, Salamence, Landorus, Thundurus, and Latios. Mamoswine can pick all of these Pokemon off at leisure, making it an excellent addition to teams that struggle with these fast and powerful offensive juggernauts. Icicle Crash is Mamoswine's secondary Ice-type move and is an excellent move to use against predicted switch-ins or Pokemon slower than Mamoswine or that can tank an Ice Shard such as Gliscor. Earthquake is Mamoswine's most powerful move, and it can comfortably 2HKO common switch ins such as Ferrothorn and Politoed. Stone Edge is the preferred move in the last slot, as it hits Pokemon such as Gyarados much harder than any of its other moves. Superpower is an alternative move that can work, hitting Blissey, Rotom-W, and Bronzong harder than any of Mamoswine's other moves, but it is sadly illegal with Thick Fat, meaning that one would have to resort to Snow Cloak, a far less useful ability.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The EVs are very simple: maximized Attack and Speed let Mamoswine hit as hard and as fast as possible, while the remaining 4 EVs are dumped into HP. An Adamant nature is chosen in order to achieve a stronger Ice Shard, Mamoswine's main move, but Jolly can be used to Speed tie with other positive natured base 80s and neutral base 90s, such as Lucario. It also allows Mamoswine to always outspeed Heatran. Life Orb is the recommended item, giving Mamoswine the freedom to switch moves. Choice Band gives more power, but being locked into Earthquake is generally a bad idea due to the sheer amount of Pokemon immune to it and the introduction of Air Balloon.</p>
<p>Stealth Rock is an alternative move choice for the last slot because Mamoswine can often rely solely on its STAB moves in order to achieve victory, and Stealth Rock provides great team support for offensive teams. However, Mamosine is neither particularly sturdy nor fast, meaning that it will often have to sacrifice itself in order to lay down the entry hazard. Icicle Spear is also a perfectly viable option as a secondary STAB Ice-type move, because it allows Mamoswine to break through Substitute and neutralize Dragonite's Multiscale while also having a potentially higher base power than Icicle Crash and perfect accuracy. Icicle Crash's reliable power is generally preferred however, since unless Icicle Spear hits four or more times in a row, it will end up doing less damage than Icicle Crash. Despite its power, Mamoswine has trouble breaking through tough physical walls such as Skarmory and Bronzong. Therefore, trappers such as Chandelure and Magnezone make excellent teammates for Mamoswine. Pokemon that can benefit from Mamoswine's ability to crush Dragon-types and bring down Pokemon such as Scarfed Landorus are also highly efficient partners. Volcarona is a prime example of this, as it also benefits from Mamoswine's ability to break through Blissey. Gyarados can come in on many things that give Mamoswine trouble, and vice versa. Pursuit users, such as Tyranitar, are also very useful teammates due to the fact that they can remove opposing Chandelure from the game. Chandelure can be extremely irritating to Mamoswine if it comes in on an Ice Shard, since it can then trap Mamoswine and proceed to nuke it with Fire Blast or Energy Ball.</p>
[SET]
name: Lead
move 1: Stealth Rock
move 2: Endeavor
move 3: Ice Shard
move 4: Earthquake
item: Focus Sash
ability: Snow Cloak
nature: Jolly / Adamant
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>Mamoswine can also act as a dedicated Stealth Rock lead. Thanks to its typing, Mamoswine's Focus Sash will not be broken by neither sandstorm nor hail, meaning that Mamoswine is practically guaranteed to both set up Stealth Rock and bring down an opponent slower than itself with the combination of Ice Shard and Endeavour. Stealth Rock is an excellent entry hazard that helps keep threatening Pokemon such as Chandelure, Dragonite, and Volcarona in check. Endeavor should be used against slower opponents that attack Mamoswine on the turn that it sets up Stealth Rock, bringing Mamoswine down to 1 HP, should its Focus Sash be activated. Ice Shard can then knock the opponent out before it can attack Mamoswine again, and Earthquake is an excellent STAB move to use if Mamoswine survives the first few turns of the battle.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>The EVs are once again very simple. Mamoswine only needs to maximize its Attack and its Speed, and the remaining 4 EVs are placed into HP. A Jolly nature is recommended so that Mamoswine can sometimes squeeze off an extra attack against a slower opponent. An Adamant nature is, however, still an option, since its attacks are noticeably weaker without an item to boost them. Focus Sash guarantees that Mamoswine will be able to set up Stealth Rock should it not be Taunted, meaning that Mamoswine will be able to bring its opponent down to 1 HP as well with Endeavor. One of the most efficient ways to prevent Mamoswine from setting up Stealth Rock is to use Fake Out and then hit it with a powerful super effective move, so Ghost-types such as Chandelure make excellent partners, preventing Pokemon such as Mienshao and Ambipom from ruining Mamoswine's day. They also spinblock, ensuring that Mamoswine's Stealth Rock stays up for the duration of the match.</p>
[Other Options]
<p>Mamoswine has a fairly good movepool; however, it generally only has to rely on its STAB moves in order to defeat the opponent. Substitute springs to mind, as it effectively gives Mamoswine a safety blanket in order to unleash its attacks, and it is worth noting that Mamoswine can easily make 101 HP Substitutes by investing 160 EVs into HP. Curse is the only way Mamoswine can boost its Attack, and the Speed drop can be circumvented with Ice Shard. Rock Slide is a less powerful Rock-type move that Mamoswine has access to, but it has better accuracy than Stone Edge and a chance to flinch the opponent. Mamoswine also has a good special movepool, consisting of moves such as Ice Beam, Earth Power, and Hidden Power; however, Mamoswine's base 70 Special Attack leaves much to be desired. Instead, Mamoswine can opt to go mixed on a hail team by using Blizzard, which gives Mamoswine the ability to 2HKO Skarmory. Should Mamoswine be used on a hail team, then Snow Cloak is a fine choice for an ability, raising Mamoswine's evasion and possibly letting it fire off another attack. Thick Fat is generally preferred though, as it gives Mamoswine an extra resistance and a neutrality.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>The best way to beat Mamoswine is by using physically defensive Pokemon that aren't weak to its attacks. Steel-types with Levitate or a secondary typing that grants them a neutrality or an immunity to Ground, such as Scizor, Skarmory and Bronzong, can switch into Mamoswine and bring it down with Bullet Punch or Gyro Ball, or simply set up on it. Bulky Water-types such as Gyarados, Manaphy, and Keldeo can smash through Mamoswine with their powerful STAB moves. The former can cut Mamoswine's Attack with Intimidate and proceed to set up Dragon Dances, and the latter two can immediately target Mamoswine's weaker Special Defense and knock it out with Surf or Hydro Pump. Chandelure can come in on Mamoswine's Ice-type moves and trap it, but it must beware unless it is a Choice Scarf or Air Balloon variant, as it shares the same base Speed as Mamosine and runs the risk of losing the Speed tie.<p>
