Metagame Metagame Discussion Thread

[playerW17]

The main benefit of Waterzium manaphy is that you have options against both defensive teams and offensive teams.

The ability to pick between a speedboost to sweep many offense teams and kill defensive teams with Hydro Vortex is really what sets Manaphy apart.

Haze Mantine is about the only thing that can reliably counter all common variations of Hydro Vortex Manaphy (counting Ice beam + Energy Ball + Psychic as common coverage), and even it has literally no way to hurt Manaphy barring using up all 24 Scalds, meaning that Manaphy is much more likely to freeze (and force scald) or score a SpD drop.

+3 rain boosted hydro vortex alone (most possible on Rain teams, although its possible to achieve this level of set-up on a passive pokemon such as Chansey) will destroy almost any defensive pokemon, achieving feats such as one-shotting Venusaur, AV Tangrowth, Chansey, Tapu Fini and Toxapex. Even without rain, coverage moves will destroy most walls that try to switch into it, meaning that defensive teams have no real recourse apart from running multiple checks and hoping it doesn't have specific coverage.

Although Magearna does fairly well against offensive teams, it has much less raw power and no special attacking boost before a kill, meaning that defensive teams can easily wall it with a Chansey/Toxapex etc.

Waterzium manaphy is honestly much stronger, and you fail to take into account that Alakazam's only boosting move is Calm Mind, without the ability to effectively run a 180BP stab move or Tail Glow, or even run effective bulky sets.

 

[Damian_Grey]

So, brand new to this metagame, but thus far -> me gusta. Lots of fun, new toys to play with. The Tapus are all super cool; not only do they each have an awesome design, but they also have extremely interesting and exciting abilities. Grass is my favorite type, so I am extremely excited about Tapu Bulu. Salazzle is cool too :3

I will say, however, that the best part of this new metagame is the decimation of Talonflame. Sweet mother of God, that thing was cancer in X/Y and OR/AS. Never before did I think I would feel happy at a funeral, and yet here I am smiling as I watch that old, fiery, bravest of birds being laid to rest in peace forever. Talonflame's flame has gone out, and set-up sweepers around the world are rejoicing. The speed stat actually has meaning again!! And now it's possible for me to run a frail, heavily offensive team without needing one of the fire-hawk's 3 punching bags (Heatran, Rotom-W, or Tyranitar). The death of Talonflame will prove to be a wonerful thing for this tier. Let us all celebrate, as we have so much to be grateful for.

Oh, also -> I like how there are less mega evolutions this time around. imo, mega evolution really exacerbated the role of team match-up in influencing match outcomes. Last gen it was pretty much impossible to prepare an answer for all of the 20+ ridiculously powerful mega evolutions during teambuilding, lol. Now that over half of them got the ax, I may be able to enjoy OU again... we shall see

 

[oreofestar]

Tbh I miss Talonflame, I think that thing was grossly over nerfed especially considering it was no where near the best mon in ORAS

 

[astroshagger]

Tbh I miss Talonflame, I think that thing was grossly over nerfed especially considering it was no where near the best mon in ORAS

GameFreak annihilated Talon... I mean he was annoying last gen and invalidated a lot of mons but it was never over the top IMO, especially with SR hampering it. The Gale Wings nerf seemed like complete overkill considering the new threats that have been introduced and psychic terrain. Has anybody found any success with Talon yet? I feel like a Jolly max spe/atk set might still have some value but probably not. :/

 

[skies]

i've noticed that poison-types and poison-type coverage seem a lot more beneficial this generation as opposed to last. despite a dugtrio buff, i've seen many more poison-types.

it seems largely in part to the tapus, pheromosa, and also the buffs to azumarill's viability it seems - alongside old threats such as landorus-t, latios,and jirachi seeing less use (from my experience; the usage data also suggests this). furthermore, a lot of poison-types have really good synergy with new pokemon, and with a tapu usually being seen on many teams, poison-types thrive because nearly all can ohko, well, all three, worrying most about lele.

poison-types just seem generally... better. and with z moves it feels like a lot of pokemon can utilize their coverage elsewhere - leading to more freedom to run a poison coverage move. they seem to be pretty solid whereas last gen we only really had gengar! i like it!

 

[Damian_Grey]

Tbh I miss Talonflame, I think that thing was grossly over nerfed especially considering it was no where near the best mon in ORAS

Hi oreofestar. I think your profile pic is really cute :3 You too astrohagger.

I do think the Talonflame nerf went a tad bit overboard. However, I will not miss this Pokemon. I know Gen VI Talonflame had problems (SR weakness, recoil damage, etc.). Talonflame was definitely not the best Pokemon in OU. However, it was still really annoying. Thanks to priority Brave Bird, Talonflame (especially banded T-flame) could ravage fast, frail, heavy-offense teams. Talonflame restricted teambuilding (particularly for offensive teams) more than other Pokemon did. At least, that is my imo, but to each his own.

I am hoping now that Talonflame is gone, I can get more creative in this new meta.

 

[kirigherkins]

I agree, I'm actually feeling excited to play this gen, something I've not felt since gen 5.

Would Psychic Terrain and more niche stuff like Tsareena's ability have been enough to balance Talon without needing to be so heavy handed? Talonflame wasn't the *only* culprit of the priority problem GF has tried to fix, sure he was a figurehead but it wasn't fair to nuke him into oblivion. Terrain balances all the other priority pretty well as is, giving the victim agency to stop it, without completely invalidating it for the other side. this was actually one of the things that got me back into battling lol I finally have something other than quick guard to stop it

Then again it might've just turned teambuilding into "man, don't wanna get wasted by talon, better pack lele." Which...I see already happening in places.

Could've given it the Archeops treatment and have it only work above 50%, that's in keeping with a number of other abilities.

 

[playerW17]

+3 252 SpA Manaphy Hydro Vortex (175 BP) vs. 252 HP / 168 SpD Ferrothorn in Rain: 339-400 (96.3 - 113.6%) -- 75% chance to OHKO

+3 252 SpA Manaphy Hydro Vortex (175 BP) vs. 252 HP / 168 SpD Ferrothorn in Rain: 339-400 (96.3 - 113.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock

Even without rain you can threaten a 2hko with Ice Beam (or Hydro Vortex + Ice Beam) after a little chip, +3 252 SpA Manaphy Ice Beam vs. 252 HP / 168 SpD Ferrothorn: 156-184 (44.3 - 52.2%) -- 17.6% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery

Or if you arent running Ice Beam and Rain is down, you can still hit it for 70%, while Power Whip should never ohko. If you get leeched, just switch out: Ferrothorn goes down to +3 Surf or +3 Ice Beam after rocks now (don't run scald, the extra Vortex power is too important).

+3 252 SpA Manaphy Surf vs. 252 HP / 168 SpD Ferrothorn: 117-138 (33.2 - 39.2%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Stealth Rock

+3 252 SpA Manaphy Hydro Vortex (175 BP) vs. 252 HP / 168 SpD Ferrothorn: 226-267 (64.2 - 75.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock

0 Atk Ferrothorn Power Whip vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Manaphy: 246-290 (72.1 - 85%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

I did specify reliable counter, which Ferrothorn is not, at least to my definitiion.

And yes, my point is that Manaphy annihilates defensive teams which Magearna really just doesn't. I know everyone knows this, which is why I'm reiterating it for you.

Edit: Small power comparison (Magearna has no boosting move and a -2 SpaAtk drop on the main STAB)

+3 252 SpA Manaphy Hydro Vortex (175 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Mew: 594-700 (174.1 - 205.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO

+3 252 SpA Manaphy Hydro Vortex (175 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Mew in Rain: 892-1050 (261.5 - 307.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO

252+ SpA Life Orb Magearna Fleur Cannon vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Mew: 304-359 (89.1 - 105.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock

Edit 2: Let me be clear that I'm not saying that Magearna is bad (its fairly good), or even that Manaphy is broken (although I do think its very strong and potentially suspect worthy). My point merely is just that its an extremely good pokemon that I feel Seth isn't giving enough credit to.

 

[Eievui-Nymphia]

+3 252 SpA Manaphy Hydro Vortex (175 BP) vs. 252 HP / 168 SpD Ferrothorn in Rain: 339-400 (96.3 - 113.6%) -- 75% chance to OHKO

+3 252 SpA Manaphy Hydro Vortex (175 BP) vs. 252 HP / 168 SpD Ferrothorn in Rain: 339-400 (96.3 - 113.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock

Even without rain you can threaten a 2hko with Ice Beam (or Hydro Vortex + Ice Beam) after a little chip, +3 252 SpA Manaphy Ice Beam vs. 252 HP / 168 SpD Ferrothorn: 156-184 (44.3 - 52.2%) -- 17.6% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery

Or if you arent running Ice Beam and Rain is down, you can still hit it for 70%, while Power Whip should never ohko. If you get leeched, just switch out: Ferrothorn goes down to +3 Surf or +3 Ice Beam after rocks now (don't run scald, the extra Vortex power is too important).

+3 252 SpA Manaphy Surf vs. 252 HP / 168 SpD Ferrothorn: 117-138 (33.2 - 39.2%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Stealth Rock

+3 252 SpA Manaphy Hydro Vortex (175 BP) vs. 252 HP / 168 SpD Ferrothorn: 226-267 (64.2 - 75.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock

0 Atk Ferrothorn Power Whip vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Manaphy: 246-290 (72.1 - 85%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

I did specify reliable counter, which Ferrothorn is not, at least to my definitiion.

And yes, my point is that Manaphy annihilates defensive teams which Magearna really just doesn't. I know everyone knows this, which is why I'm reiterating it for you.

Edit: Small power comparison (Magearna has no boosting move and a -2 SpaAtk drop on the main STAB)

+3 252 SpA Manaphy Hydro Vortex (175 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Mew: 594-700 (174.1 - 205.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO

+3 252 SpA Manaphy Hydro Vortex (175 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Mew in Rain: 892-1050 (261.5 - 307.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO

252+ SpA Life Orb Magearna Fleur Cannon vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Mew: 304-359 (89.1 - 105.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock

Edit 2: Let me be clear that I'm not saying that Magearna is bad (its fairly good), or even that Manaphy is broken (although I do think its very strong and potentially suspect worthy). My point merely is just that its an extremely good pokemon that I feel Seth isn't giving enough credit to.

Manaphy can't set up in front of Ferrothorn, specially with I think it's the better set right now.
Ferrothorn @ Leftovers/Rocky Holmet
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 88 Def / 168 SpD
Relaxed Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Leech Seed
- Gyro Ball/Protect
- Power Whip

With this set, Manaphy has to be already set up Rain Dance AND Tail glow before Ferrothorn comes. It's easier said than done, and needs that Manaphy hasn't be used Z-Rain Dance prior (for other threats). I put Protect because Protect destroys Pheromosa.*

*Actually in Gen VI Protect were used on both Ferrothorn and Heatran, Pokemon that that attract Pheromosa and love to HJK them. Also, 2nd Protect on Pheromosa is one of the few situation where you can even try to Protect a 2nd time.*

*2nd Protect should only be used for extremely powerful High Jump Kick in Top Tier Pokemon that are extremely difficult to deal and the Pokemon take very well ALL the rest of moves. In this case, there's a 40% chance that Pheromosa crashes.

 

[playerW17]

Oh yeah, all of my calcs were under the assumption that Ferrothorn was switching in: obviously you dont set up on Ferrothorn itself.

 

[Morkal]

So the question I'm posing to you all, have any of you tried running Talonflame in OU even with the nerf?
126 speed is still pretty gnarly, and Gale Wings does still work if you keep hazards off, so spamming Brave Birds is still pretty easy. Also with Gale Wings being nerfed so hard, it's now viable to run Flame Body which is a nasty surprise for certain physical Pokemon. Tbh I've found that Scarfed or Banded Talonflame is actually a relatively decent answer for some annoying mons like Pheromosa and Tapu Bulu. It still has a place in OU, just nowhere near as much as before.

 

[aybekay]

So the question I'm posing to you all, have any of you tried running Talonflame in OU even with the nerf?
126 speed is still pretty gnarly, and Gale Wings does still work if you keep hazards off, so spamming Brave Birds is still pretty easy. Also with Gale Wings being nerfed so hard, it's now viable to run Flame Body which is a nasty surprise for certain physical Pokemon. Tbh I've found that Scarfed or Banded Talonflame is actually a relatively decent answer for some annoying mons like Pheromosa and Tapu Bulu. It still has a place in OU, just nowhere near as much as before.

Dude didnt you see the usage stats from November ?

Talonflame's usage was like 0.05 % in OU. You cant say Talonflame has a niche in OU.

 

[guan123]

So the question I'm posing to you all, have any of you tried running Talonflame in OU even with the nerf?
126 speed is still pretty gnarly, and Gale Wings does still work if you keep hazards off, so spamming Brave Birds is still pretty easy. Also with Gale Wings being nerfed so hard, it's now viable to run Flame Body which is a nasty surprise for certain physical Pokemon. Tbh I've found that Scarfed or Banded Talonflame is actually a relatively decent answer for some annoying mons like Pheromosa and Tapu Bulu. It still has a place in OU, just nowhere near as much as before.

Uh, brave bird is counterproductive to gale wings since brave bird is a recoil move and gale wings only works at full hp. Flame Body is better with brave bird but a gale wings acrobatics set could work. Try This:
Talonflame @ Sharp Beak
Ability: Flame Body
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Brave Bird
- Flare Blitz
- Swords Dance
- Will-O-Wisp
Or this: Acrobatics can replace brave bird, roost can replace flare blitz, remove sharp beak, and change flame body to gale wings.

 

[MelinCantrit34]

So the question I'm posing to you all, have any of you tried running Talonflame in OU even with the nerf?
126 speed is still pretty gnarly, and Gale Wings does still work if you keep hazards off, so spamming Brave Birds is still pretty easy. Also with Gale Wings being nerfed so hard, it's now viable to run Flame Body which is a nasty surprise for certain physical Pokemon. Tbh I've found that Scarfed or Banded Talonflame is actually a relatively decent answer for some annoying mons like Pheromosa and Tapu Bulu. It still has a place in OU, just nowhere near as much as before.

I think you would probably like to try Staraptor instead, with the Talon nerf Star outclasses it in every single way.
With a Scarf + Reckless you can outspeed Pheromoza and still deal very decent damage to other threats.

 

[mew-2Chainz]

Talonflame was my go to when it came to checking bulky grass types like M-Veno and Amoonguss. It feels weird not to have him here.

I guess Kyurem-B and Staraptor also does this job pretty well too.

 

[Morkal]

Dude didnt you see the usage stats from November ?

Talonflame's usage was like 0.05 % in OU. You cant say Talonflame has a niche in OU.

That's like saying because Gengar dropped into UU Alpha that Gengar doesn't have an OU niche when it definitely does, it's just far less important than it was previously.

Uh, brave bird is counterproductive to gale wings since brave bird is a recoil move and gale wings only works at full hp. Flame Body is better with brave bird but a gale wings acrobatics set could work. Try This:
Talonflame @ Sharp Beak
Ability: Flame Body
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Brave Bird
- Flare Blitz
- Swords Dance
- Will-O-Wisp
Or this: Acrobatics can replace brave bird, roost can replace flare blitz, remove sharp beak, and change flame body to gale wings.

I'm actually going to give this set a try it looks like a ton of fun. Would Swords Dance be necessary though? Does it have enough power to slap a u-turn on for momentum?

I think you would probably like to try Staraptor instead, with the Talon nerf Star outclasses it in every single way.
With a Scarf + Reckless you can outspeed Pheromoza and still deal very decent damage to other threats.

It has Flame Body and double STAB that Staraptor doesn't have, my team needs fire coverage.

 

[Seth_]

+3 252 SpA Manaphy Hydro Vortex (175 BP) vs. 252 HP / 168 SpD Ferrothorn in Rain: 339-400 (96.3 - 113.6%) -- 75% chance to OHKO

+3 252 SpA Manaphy Hydro Vortex (175 BP) vs. 252 HP / 168 SpD Ferrothorn in Rain: 339-400 (96.3 - 113.6%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock

Even without rain you can threaten a 2hko with Ice Beam (or Hydro Vortex + Ice Beam) after a little chip, +3 252 SpA Manaphy Ice Beam vs. 252 HP / 168 SpD Ferrothorn: 156-184 (44.3 - 52.2%) -- 17.6% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery

Or if you arent running Ice Beam and Rain is down, you can still hit it for 70%, while Power Whip should never ohko. If you get leeched, just switch out: Ferrothorn goes down to +3 Surf or +3 Ice Beam after rocks now (don't run scald, the extra Vortex power is too important).

+3 252 SpA Manaphy Surf vs. 252 HP / 168 SpD Ferrothorn: 117-138 (33.2 - 39.2%) -- guaranteed 3HKO after Stealth Rock

+3 252 SpA Manaphy Hydro Vortex (175 BP) vs. 252 HP / 168 SpD Ferrothorn: 226-267 (64.2 - 75.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Stealth Rock

0 Atk Ferrothorn Power Whip vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Manaphy: 246-290 (72.1 - 85%) -- guaranteed 2HKO

I did specify reliable counter, which Ferrothorn is not, at least to my definitiion.

And yes, my point is that Manaphy annihilates defensive teams which Magearna really just doesn't. I know everyone knows this, which is why I'm reiterating it for you.

Edit: Small power comparison (Magearna has no boosting move and a -2 SpaAtk drop on the main STAB)

+3 252 SpA Manaphy Hydro Vortex (175 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Mew: 594-700 (174.1 - 205.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO

+3 252 SpA Manaphy Hydro Vortex (175 BP) vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Mew in Rain: 892-1050 (261.5 - 307.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO

252+ SpA Life Orb Magearna Fleur Cannon vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Mew: 304-359 (89.1 - 105.2%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock

Edit 2: Let me be clear that I'm not saying that Magearna is bad (its fairly good), or even that Manaphy is broken (although I do think its very strong and potentially suspect worthy). My point merely is just that its an extremely good pokemon that I feel Seth isn't giving enough credit to.

Of course manaphy breaks through fat team. It did that in this gen, past gen. And it is good mon, I agree.

However I see no sense in effort to make it sweeper. You want from sweeper to deal with quick teams. It already has great matchup against fat and taking less coverag actually makes it worse. I hardly see manaphy managing to get free 2 turns against offense. Magearna on the other hand can get it set up much, much easier.

I'm very sceptic about it because gen6 OU alread had various double dancers (and manaphy is kinad double dancer). Landorus-t, Thundurus are most common. Sometimes they did some nice job, however they remain unpopular, "nichte".

And that is how I feel about z-raindance manaphy. Good wallbreaker but comparing to porygon-z and margeana it is just mediocre sweeper.

 

[tigers jaw]

The issue that people face with Waterium-Z Manaphy is that the conventional method that bulky offence had to handle it (see: hard Latios, chunk and revenge kill whilst sacking to +3 Ice Beam) is completely null and void now. Manaphy uses Z-Rain Dance on the telegraphed switch to Latios, lives the Draco/Thunderbolt, boosts, and kills. You're then sat with an offence team facing a +3/+1 Manaphy in Rain. Continuing the "conventional methods" theme; couple this with the ability to break through defensive cores with even less/regardless of coverage via the use of Hydro Vortex, it makes Manaphy even harder to deal with than before for defensive teams. It basically removes all of the factors that were holding (a near-broken) Manaphy back.

Edit: posting from a phone with a screen resembling the current meta (cracked to fuck). Forgive any misspelled/placed words as I literally cannot see anything !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Chaoswalker]

That's like saying because Gengar dropped into UU Alpha that Gengar doesn't have an OU niche when it definitely does, it's just far less important than it was previously.

Gengar and talonflame's situations are not the same. Gengar lost some switch in opportunities. Talonflame can't fill its revenge killing function anymore. If Gengar is 25% harder to use, Talonflame is 85% harder to use. It literally stops functioning in its primary role after one stab move, and is now revenged by the scarf users it used to check. At best now you can try abusing that high speed with a swords dance set, but we all know mega Pinsir still exists.

 

[Shurtugal]

Of course manaphy breaks through fat team. It did that in this gen, past gen. And it is good mon, I agree.

However I see no sense in effort to make it sweeper. You want from sweeper to deal with quick teams. It already has great matchup against fat and taking less coverag actually makes it worse. I hardly see manaphy managing to get free 2 turns against offense. Magearna on the other hand can get it set up much, much easier.

I'm very sceptic about it because gen6 OU alread had various double dancers (and manaphy is kinad double dancer). Landorus-t, Thundurus are most common. Sometimes they did some nice job, however they remain unpopular, "nichte".

And that is how I feel about z-raindance manaphy. Good wallbreaker but comparing to porygon-z and margeana it is just mediocre sweeper.

Comparing Manaphy to Magearna would be like comparing Keldeo to AV Tornadus-T in ORAS OU: they do different things, have different movepools, type, coverage...

Comparing them is kind of silly. I would explain why but multiple users have already highlighted their differences much better than I. If you're trying to say Magearna will have more use in the meta then OK, but saying Magearna outclasses Manaphy is wrong because they do different things, so it would just imply the meta needs Magearna's role more than Manaphy, not that Magearna does Manaphy's job better (because they simply do not perform the same roles).

 

[Morkal]

Gengar and talonflame's situations are not the same. Gengar lost some switch in opportunities. Talonflame can't fill its revenge killing function anymore. If Gengar is 25% harder to use, Talonflame is 85% harder to use. It literally stops functioning in its primary role after one stab move, and is now revenged by the scarf users it used to check. At best now you can try abusing that high speed with a swords dance set, but we all know mega Pinsir still exists.

126 Speed and access to STAB Brave Bird and STAB Flare Blitz begs to differ; especially with Psychic Terrain around preventing others from nailing Talonflame with their own priority, I feel as though it's still a wonderful revenge killer. At most Talonflame is in the same situation as Gengar, and I'd argue that Talonflame's movepool is focused enough to still have more utility than Gengar.

 

[IcyMan28]

126 Speed and access to STAB Brave Bird and STAB Flare Blitz begs to differ; especially with Psychic Terrain around preventing others from nailing Talonflame with their own priority, I feel as though it's still a wonderful revenge killer. At most Talonflame is in the same situation as Gengar, and I'd argue that Talonflame's movepool is focused enough to still have more utility than Gengar.

Hardly. For starters, Talonflame is not grounded and is thus unaffected by Psychic Terrain. This means it actually is vulnerable to priority.

Talonflame has lost many of its niches. Defensive sets relied on Gale Wings as a proxy for speed EVs so it could invest in bulk, which it can no longer do.

Offensive sets can now take advantage of a single Brave Bird or resort to the much weaker item less Acrobatics. The support required for a 4x SR weak Pokémon is not worth it without insane power or set up ability (see Zard-Y and Volc). Why would you run Talonflame at all when you can invest in better sweepers?

Flame Body is worthless and hardly a selling point.

Gengar is still a speedy attacker with fearsome Ghost-STAB and insane coverage. Talonflame is no longer a prime revenge killer, sweeper, nor fairy check. Its heyday has come and gone.

 

[BeardyBennett]

Don't know how much it's been talked about here, but Sash Lycanrock has been doing some great things for me:

Lycanroc @ Focus Sash
Ability: Sand Rush
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Accelerock
- Stealth Rock
- Stone Edge
- Fire Fang

For starters, Sash Lycanrock makes sense as a great lead given it's pretty much guaranteed to get Rocks up barring Taunt or multihit moves. Big deal, a lot of Pokemon do that. However, Lycanrock is more than just a suicide lead. With a solid attack stat of 115 (the same as Entei) and 112 speed (outspeeding things like Latios and Gengar, speed-tie with Scolipede), Lycanrock is a great offensive force even without using Swords Dance. However, the biggest asset is STAB Rock priority, making it an exceptional revenge killer even against those threats faster than itself (like ScarfRaptor, Phero, Weavile, M-Zam outside of Psychic Terrain, Tapu Koko, etc.).

However, I feel this mon works best in the mid-game where you can perhaps surprise the opponent with the Scarf. I recently played a match where my opponent had a Greninja. My team had some possible options to deal with it based on whatever coverage it could have, but I couldn't be sure if it would work or not. So, I decided to sack a wounded Rotom-W and bring in Lycanrock. The Greninja brings it down to to Sash, then boom. Stone Edge OHKO. Rage quit. Granted maybe my opponent was just clueless (no Water Shuriken?), but it's an example of what Lycanrock is capable of. The same plan could even help deal with a pesky set-up mon since Lycanrock wouldn't be dropped in one hit. You could fire off a Stone Edge and an Accelerock if you didn't kill on the first hit, or maybe firing off two Accelrocks will work.

A suicide lead, a revenge killer, a late-game sweeper, a set-up stopper, Sash Lycanrock is awesome right now. Despite its criminally-limited movepool, Lycanrock is a versatile and powerful OU mon.

 

[oreofestar]

I've been running something similar but with taunt over fire fang, which often comes in handy for a lead

 

[BeardyBennett]

I've been running something similar but with taunt over fire fang, which often comes in handy for a lead

Yeah definitely if you're using it primarily as a lead. I'd probably do something similar if I was consistently going with it as my lead. However, I also have Lando-T and Rotom-W on the team I use with it, so it's not always my lead. Or even the lead half of the time. Since I'm using it more for offensive presence and revenge-killing, I like Fire Fang for opposing Scizors and Ferro being that they are fairly common. However, Taunt is awesome if it's a consistent lead like your's is.