SM OU Minior Birdspam (Peak #7!)

GMars

It's ya boy GEEEEEEEEMARS
is a Site Content Manager Alumnusis a Battle Simulator Admin Alumnusis a Social Media Contributor Alumnusis a Senior Staff Member Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Top CAP Contributor Alumnusis a Top Contributor Alumnusis a Smogon Media Contributor Alumnus
Minior Birdspam: Aka Hennessy Nights


https://soundcloud.com/user-215045506%2Fhennessy-nights
Introduction
I've always been a fan of teams with a dedicated lead. Turn 0 can have a huge impact on how a game goes, and early-game momentum is decided by how you choose which mon is going to go out first. It's why I've ended up usually building and playing with teams that reduce the importance of Turn 0, where there's the most unknowns and the least information available for you to make a choice of play -- teams like Mega Sableye stall, Sticky Web, and Birdspam. You either send out your lead or identify what their counterlead would be and play against that. It's a really simple A or B situation and in long laddering sessions, reducing the complexity of that first turn is great. I'm also a fan of setup on Pokemon and creating situations with the potential for big swings in momentum, so when Minior was revealed as a Pokemon with a defensive, status-immune forme that could transform into a frailer offensive forme, I got to theorymonning pretty heavily. Before its moves were revealed, I was just hoping for Rock Polish so I could do a Weakness Policy + Rock Polish set. Of course, when it ended up getting Shell Smash, I was so pumped, threw together a hyper offense Minior team, and took it to the ladder. It looked something like this:

It was surprisingly effective, partly because of the absolutely broken Zygarde-C, but also because people on the ladder were spamming Landorus-I and Aegislash, which Minior and Porygon-Z could take advantage of easily. This team, as whack as it was, got me into SM OU and writing analyses. With SM coming to a close and Sword and Shield on the horizon, I wanted to remake something like this original team and see how it'd do on the ladder today. With Zygarde gone, all the megas released, and the understanding that Mega Venusaur might not be the best fit on HO, I decided to model the new team after Gen 6 birdspam.

Teambuilding Process

The Original xtra$hine Birdspam:

Tried-and-true shell for Flying HO. Originally, after Zygarde was banned, I was worried that the freedom people had to run Rotom-W's and other Flying resists like Celesteela coupled with the reduction of previously mandatory Grass-types would make the team ineffective, so I started with a modified version of this team, no Minior. Only change was Z-Move on Talonflame in the spirit of an old Vertex offense team I used to spam. The funny thing is, with the rise of Rotom, the team felt really similar to me how it did in Gen 6.


At first, I tried slapping Minior over Dragonite, leaving Talonflame as the Z-Move user. However, after testing, Dragonite performed much better as a breaker on the team and patched a few holes just by virtue of Multiscale.


I stripped off Talonflame and swapped a couple sets around, making Dragonite Flyinium Z and throwing a Wiki Berry on Manaphy. After this, I laddered with the team for a while, then got fully distracted working on a Gravity + Mamoswine team. Ewin took over laddering with the Minior team, swapped a few sets and natures around to handle stall and Lando better, then peaked with the new version of the squad.

The team


Azelf @ Focus Sash
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Skill Swap
- Taunt
- Explosion

Azelf fills a number of key roles as the lead for this team. With Taunt and its great Speed tier, it prevents opposing Stealth Rock, which is absolutely critical for the team to function, and can stop Defogs. It also sets hazards for the team to help every mon break, then has Explosion in order to gain momentum, bringing out a breaker undamaged while chipping away the opposing team, enabling the team to keep pressuring hazard setters and removers. A simple spread of 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe was used for the peak, though if you'd like to do better against Mega Lopunny, you can EV it to take a Fake Out into a Return (128 HP / 128 Def / 252+ Spe) at the cost of ~20% weaker Explosions.


Pinsir @ Pinsirite
Ability: Hyper Cutter
Happiness: 0
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Frustration
- Quick Attack
- Close Combat

While Pinsir has been dropping in viability lately due to the prevalence of Zapdos, Rotom-W, and Celesteela, it's necessary for the Birdspam core to come together. With partners to take advantage of damage on these threats and powerful priority, Mega Pinsir can still function extremely well either as an early-game breaker or as a late-game closer. Frustration is used over Return to restrict the choices of any opposing Ditto. While likely controversial, an Adamant nature is used as on the original birdspam team to improve the matchup against stall with a few other benefits such as guaranteeing +2 Quick Attack OHKOs Tornadus-T after rocks. Most people assume Pinsir is Jolly and play around it, so Adamant has worked well for this team, though feel free to change it to Jolly if you'd like. Hyper Cutter is the best ability to punish opposing Lando, while Close Combat is used over Earthquake for picking up key extra damage on Celesteela and Rotom.


Excadrill @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Rapid Spin
- Iron Head
- Rock Slide

Excadrill's typing lets it check would-be threats like Tapu Koko and Magearna, and its fast Rapid Spin can really come in handy to protect Dragonite's Multiscale and to keep Minior healthy enough to set up. An Adamant nature was used to give Rock Slide a better chance to OHKO Tornadus-T after rocks (37.5% -> 93.8%) and to ensure a kill on Kyu-B after rocks (56.3% -> guaranteed), and the general damage increase often came in handy in games, giving better rolls on Medicham and Pex for example. With the popularity of Mega Alakazam, Jolly is definitely an option, but Adamant worked well for this team since Minior can take advantage of Zam and the team has several other routes of counterplay for it.


Dragonite @ Flyinium Z
Ability: Multiscale
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Fly
- Earthquake
- Roost

Flyinium Z Dragonite is a great nuke for the team. With the pressure the team puts out and support from Excadrill, it can usually keep Multiscale intact to act as either an emergency check or being able to cop an easy Dragon Dance. Using its Supersonic Skystrike well is key to break a big enough hole open for Pinsir and Minior to take advantage of. Roost seems like a pretty odd option, as usually Extreme Speed or something like Fire Punch would be here, but it helps the team out against Landorus, lets Dragonite Dragon Dance multiple times against more passive targets, gives Dragonite a way to abuse Celesteela, and provides the team with a bit of extra reliability.


Manaphy @ Wiki Berry
Ability: Hydration
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Rain Dance
- Tail Glow
- Surf
- Ice Beam

Manaphy punishes the defensive cores that would otherwise hinder this team. In lower ladder, before encountering much stall, you can replace Rain Dance for an extra coverage move such as Psychic or Energy Ball, but Rain Dance is great for powering up Surf enough to take out Chansey without requiring a Modest nature and for absorbing detrimental statuses. Wiki Berry is great over Leftovers to get burst recovery, since Manaphy likely won't be on the field for long if it's not going to end a game on its own. Manaphy's natural bulk, especially when backed by a berry, helps it act as a great glue for the team.


Minior @ White Herb
Ability: Shields Down
EVs: 60 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD / 188 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Shell Smash
- Acrobatics
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge

When I first saw Minior, I figured it'd end up somewhere in RUBL. It's an inverse Zen Mode Darmanitan, something that usually gets an easy opportunity to set up against any strong neutral attack, take advantage of the hit to power up, and absolutely go to town. Unfortunately, its crippling weakness to priority had a worse effect on its viability in lower tiers than I thought it would. Despite this, it can blow through unprepared teams and wallbreak for teammates even when priority is present if it's not carefully played around. Its high-BP Flying + Ground coverage is devastating, its immunity to status lets it take advantage of passive mons without requiring a moveslot, and people who don't know what it does that try to Toxic, Glare, or Wisp it end up losing off that one turn alone. Check the replays below, it does something in nearly every game. This team runs Stone Edge over Substitute to help break Zapdos, Celesteela, Rotom-W, Skarmory, you name it. I did a massive analysis a while back about Stone Edge versus Power Gem, Stone Edge is definitely key for this team even taking into account its accuracy issues. The Speed EVs enable Meteor forme Minior to outspeed Tapu Koko and Mega Lopunny at +2 and the whole tier in +2 Core forme, while the bulk investment helps cushion hits like Mega Alakazam's Psychic even after rocks, non-Specs Tapu Lele's Psychic, Specs Lele's Moonblast, and Scarf Lando-T's Stone Edge, even giving Minior a chance to take a Heavy Slam from Celesteela if need be. 60 HP EVs are used so that Minior's HP is divisible by 4, letting it proc Shields Down on 2 rocks switchins should worse come to worse, but with Excadrill's support you can also take the EVs out of SpD and go with 68 HP, giving Zam an even smaller chance to get the OHKO with Psychic after rocks in the process.

Replays

https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-904464477 - Up against Mega Alakazam bulky offense, Minior survives a pre-Ash Gren's Water Shuriken to sweep 6 Pokemon after a smash.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-904460972 - A double Shell Smash lets Minior take down a Lando from full and dismantle the opponent's team.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-911342383 - Adamant Mega Pinsir + Adamant Excadrill break away Shed Stall
---
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-895088785 - Versus some weird webs with a Zapdos and a Lando, Talonflame variant
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-895097892 - Versus sun, Minior auto-wins
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-895101213 - Not even sure but hey Minior gets 2 kills
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-895107671 - Versus some Xurkitree offense, Minior puts in massive work cleaning up Rachi, Gyarados, and doing 95 to a Clef after an Intimidate
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-895117595 - At this point you start to notice that high ladder is full of whack teams, up against Diggersby Webs
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-895143105 - Back to back webs, this time against a Kommo-o variant. Mega Pinsir comes through in the end. Began testing other Z-Move users than Talonflame.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-895544844 - Near final variation of the team, against a bulkier offense with a Mamoswine. Minior is able to exploit a Choice Scarf Greninja to clean in the end.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-895547409 - Turn 5 forfeit jmflao
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-895571001 - Against a Mega Latias BO with Scarf Rachi
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-895610914 - Mega Pinsir cleaning once again
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-895742661 - Up against a Hippo and a Slowbro, Minior manages to double Smash and pick up a win
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-895754066 - Minior dodges a Hydro Pump to win against some sort of Houndoom...offense? Not totally sure on this one.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-895759997 - Minior takes down a Celesteela
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-896724185 - Up against Dual Screens, the opponent tries to Glare Minior fsr, not knowing about Shields Down. BOP.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-896078837 - Minior manages to break past a Skarm after sacking the whole team to negate its Whirlwind.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-911291549 - After Mega Scizor drops, a Gliscor thinks it can Toxic Minior and lets Minior pick up 5 kills.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-908399480 - Rain Dance Manaphy helps break a Chansey, Roost D-Nite picks up a sweep.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-907976938 - Roost D-Nite puts in more work, letting Scarf Drill clean late.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-907974073 - More webs. Minior tanks a scarf Rock Slide from Gren, transforms, and sweeps.
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-904496877 - Booming turn 1 to take out Ash-Gren, letting Minior break through Zapdos and giving D-Nite the chance to sweep.
----
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-962007695 - Beating Rain at 1900's in this month of August 2019
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-962009784 - Breaking 2000 in this month of August 2019
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen7ou-962015137 - Minior takes a Hyperspace Fury from Hoopa-U and sets up on it for the sweep.

Threatlist

Rain: I've been advised to "click X when you see this." The team isn't equipped to handle it and the counterplay just isn't there. You can try to make some magic happen with Dragonite and Pinsir, and Energy Ball on Manaphy may be helpful, but overall it's a losing battle and a tragic matchup.

Celesteela: Celesteela can be difficult to take on, unsurprisingly, since the team lacks a way to remove its Lefties. There's plenty of counterplay, Roost Dragonite can help, Edge from Minior does a chunk, and Manaphy can punish it, but it's definitely annoying to see it at Team Preview.

Screens: Rough form of opposing HO to face, especially since lead Koko outspeeds Azelf. Requires careful play and a lot of calcing.

Scizor: Lots of ways to break past it on the team with Pinsir etc, but it stonewalls Minior.

Opposing Minior: Whoever smashes first and doesn't miss Edge wins. GL.



Azelf @ Focus Sash
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Skill Swap
- Taunt
- Explosion

Pinsir @ Pinsirite
Ability: Hyper Cutter
Happiness: 0
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Swords Dance
- Frustration
- Quick Attack
- Close Combat

Excadrill @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Earthquake
- Rapid Spin
- Iron Head
- Rock Slide

Dragonite @ Flyinium Z
Ability: Multiscale
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Fly
- Earthquake
- Roost

Manaphy @ Wiki Berry
Ability: Hydration
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Rain Dance
- Tail Glow
- Surf
- Ice Beam

Minior @ White Herb
Ability: Shields Down
EVs: 60 HP / 252 Atk / 8 SpD / 188 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Shell Smash
- Acrobatics
- Earthquake
- Stone Edge


In the spirit of lyd, I'm going to tag as many people as possible to farm likes:
Finchinator - Better lock down the vr I'm making a nom soon
TPP - 1v1 me Saitamas only no items final destination
Indigo Plateau - Have a great summer
Leo - I am going to steal your house in minecraft
Jordy - Never thought I'd respect someone who used to be called ThiccTornadus
lyd - Thanks for inspiring me to tag a bunch of people at the end of my rmt to farm likes
Colonel M - File the paperwork, it's time
Gary - Idk how to say it but I got a third hundo treecko
Subject 18 - After my next project I'm gonna finish TPN, and don't think I've forgotten this
TDK - When do you want that Mario Party rematch
ABR - Yo man I've got a great team for your next tour match
Gross Sweep - Please don't lock this
Hootie - Barbaracle's next
SHSP - bro help I spilled
xavgb - my sauce all over
Jho - these shout outs
Snorlax in the way - GEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEMARS
G-Luke - Some day I'm gonna ask you what the G stands for but I'm terrified it's the same as mine
snake_rattler - make another pun and I'm finna snap
GL Volkner - read above
Birkal - You've been tagged kid, get fucked
cbrevan - goat
kaori - yoos
DKM - don't read VR posts
martha - LOCK ON + ZAP CANNON next
GatoDelFuego - Free the dabbing emoji
P Squared - At first I typo'd your tag as "p sqaured," does this revoke my GP badge
Mr. Uncompetitive - Party hard
Lemonade - Party harder
The Dutch Plumberjack - I also typo'd your tag at first, oops. Also thanks for always taking the time to answer my questions and misc stuff, I appreciate it
yogi - big fan
Mannat - hey just wanted you to know that you’re fake as fuck. I found out what you said about me but it’s cool I just don’t want to talk to you anymore and don’t even try fixing this shit cause I’m just playing lol u my friend but did you know in 1998, the undertaker threw Manning off hell in a cell, and plummeted 16 ft through an announcer's table.
Mellow - Imagine being tagged next to Mannat
power - I typed @sedertz first, why have you done this to me
blarghlfarghl - achievement goat
Pish - @ smash bros pull up
quziel - Take this team and slap cap 26 over excadrill. Easy.
Kevin Garrett - LF Chimmy FT Filler 14/15/15 Rayquaza
FlamingVictini - how are you so lucky bro wtf
Oristeros - send pogo gift please
MajorBowman - grats on 40
miapi - Use this team to peak higher than ever before, I believe in you
xtra$hine - Thanks for letting me steal your team
Ewin - Thanks for tweaking the team and peaking, minior gang
@ people I didn't tag - oops
 
Last edited:

Srn

Water (Spirytus - 96%)
is an official Team Rateris a Forum Moderatoris a Community Contributoris a Top Tiering Contributor
OUPL Champion
While Pinsir has been dropping in viability lately due to the prevalence of Zapdos, Rotom-W, and Celesteela​
Hold it
I have the solution
Pinsir-Mega @ Pinsirite
Ability: Aerilate
Happiness: 0
EVs: 8 HP / 248 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Flail
- Quick Attack
- Swords Dance
- Substitute
(8 hp evs hits 273 hp, 4 subs of 68 hp each leaving you with 1 hp)

+2 252 Atk Aerilate Pinsir-Mega Flail (200 BP) vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Zapdos: 357-420 (92.9 - 109.3%) -- 56.3% chance to OHKO after Leftovers recovery
+2 252 Atk Aerilate Pinsir-Mega Flail (200 BP) vs. 252 HP / 200+ Def Rotom-Wash: 318-375 (104.6 - 123.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO
+2 252 Atk Aerilate Pinsir-Mega Flail (200 BP) vs. 248 HP / 28 Def Celesteela: 423-498 (106.5 - 125.4%) -- guaranteed OHKO
 
Great team! I've been looking for a Poke who can abuse Acrobatics other than Hawlucha but it really sucks that it has terrible distribution when it comes to Pokes that have a decent attack stat and get STAB on the move as well. I didn't think Minior was viable with all the priority moves in OU but you proved me wrong.
 

Users Who Are Viewing This Thread (Users: 1, Guests: 0)

Top