Wow, thread kinda a graveyard lol
Not sure if it's just interest in this meta slowing down or the fact Zama should have been a QB.
Anyway, I love having a dedicated switch in for Gambit.
Anything that helps you mitigate the cringe that is Gambit late game will always be appreciated
That said, will be voting ban.
Tera breaks this mon.
Specifically Tera Electric, Steel, and Ice- but Fairy and others I'm sure will pop up.
If Tera was gone, Zama fills a much needed niche as a physical check that isn't a passive momentum sap.
However, any and all counterplay is invalidated by tera.
I don't know why some players are so shortsighted that they think this thing won't be broken by sets that will rise in popularity.
I'll try to illuminate why Zama can't stay. Even though it should be obvious, I'll break it down.
Of the few tools we really have to stop it are dedicated, incredibly passive walls such as Dozo, and Pex, but they still lose when u factor in Tera.
And the other set of tools, RK such as Pult and Val still lose when Zama variants pick up in usage as needed.
This is the set I'm running now, and
without dedicated answers it's shredding teams.
![:Zamazenta:](/forums/media/minisprites/zamazenta.png.m.1716648629)
Zamazenta @ Lum Berry
Ability: Dauntless Shield
Tera Type: Electric
EVs: 240 Atk / 100 Def / 168 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Iron Defense
- Body Press
- Heavy Slam
- Crunch
But let's drop Crunch or Heavy Slam and replace it w Tera blast.
240 Atk Tera Electric Zamazenta Tera Blast vs. 252 HP / 192+ Def Toxapex: 138-164 (45.3 - 53.9%) -- 1.6% chance to 2HKO after Leftovers
recovery
240 Atk Tera Electric Zamazenta Tera Blast vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Dondozo: 162-192 (32.1 - 38%) -- 93.8% chance to 3HKO
So Dozo comes in, takes a 1/3, then another, forcing it to Rest, because Curse doesn't save it at that point, and now u have all the momentum, and a sleeping Dozo that loses this exchange later.
And, as you see,
this is not a max attack variant, just the same old set that also
beats Zapdos and Corv.
If we keep Crunch, it beats Dirge, G-King, and Gold more often than not
240 Atk Tera Electric Zamazenta Crunch vs. 248 HP / 0 Def Skeledirge: 164-194 (39.9 - 47.2%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
240 Atk Tera Electric Zamazenta Crunch vs. 252 HP / 16 Def Slowking-Galar: 192-228 (48.7 - 57.8%) -- 96.9% chance to 2HKO
240 Atk Tera Electric Zamazenta Crunch vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Gholdengo: 170-202 (53.9 - 64.1%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
And Amoong? Well Finch mentioned Tera Fire.
240 Atk Tera Fire Zamazenta Tera Blast vs. 252 HP / 172+ Def Amoonguss: 242-288 (56 - 66.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
What about Lando, Tusk, Clod?
Tera Ice.
240 Atk Tera Ice Zamazenta Tera Blast vs. 252 HP / 252+ Def Great Tusk: 146-174 (33.6 - 40%) -- 25.8% chance to 3HKO after Leftovers recovery
(This set doesn't run CC, but even if it did, you can just ID on the switch in.)
Offensive tusk takes 80 and doesn't OHKO back with CC if Zama is at +1 defense.
240 Atk Tera Ice Zamazenta Tera Blast vs. 248 HP / 8 Def Clodsire: 366-432 (79 - 93.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
-1 240 Atk Tera Ice Zamazenta Tera Blast vs. 252 HP / 248+ Def Landorus-Therian: 256-304 (67 - 79.5%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Expert Belt Tera Ice Zamazenta Tera Blast vs. 252 HP / 172+ Def Amoonguss: 324-382 (75 - 88.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ Atk Expert Belt Tera Ice Zamazenta Tera Blast vs. 252 HP / 104 Def Zapdos: 331-391 (86.1 - 101.8%) -- 12.5% chance to OHKO
(The Tera Elec set still beats Zap anyway, but just putting it here as well)
So, no, thanks to Tera there is no consistent counterplay, and at best it forces you to defensive tera, which leaves you vulnerable to the 5 other mons.
Were you saving your defensive tera for late game? Too bad, you have to handle Zama first, and then get blown away later.
This is a mon that can clearly picks it's counters.
Didn't we just ban Volc for that same thing?
Ah so what about revenge killing?
Well, Zama is still in it's infancy, and will definitely have more than 2 sets before it's all said and done lmao.
Zama will obviously scare out a lot of mons, and/or is tanky enough to take neutral attacks, and get a free Trailblaze/Agility either way.
![:Zamazenta:](/forums/media/minisprites/zamazenta.png.m.1716648629)
Zamazenta @ Expert Belt
Ability: Dauntless Shield
Tera Type: Fairy
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Trailblaze/Agility
- Iron Head
- Crunch
- Close Combat
Adamant still outspeeds Booster Val at +1, btw lol
252+ Atk Expert Belt Zamazenta Iron Head vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Iron Valiant: 238-281 (82.3 - 97.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
That's without SR or Spikes up, as if that's ever going to happen lol
1 layer is 65% to OHKO, SR + 1 layer is OHKO
Or you could Tera if they somehow avoid a flinch and somehow there is no hazards
252+ Atk Expert Belt Tera Steel Zamazenta Iron Head vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Iron Valiant: 355-420 (122.8 - 145.3%) -- guaranteed OHKO
Gold? Gold folds
252+ Atk Expert Belt Zamazenta Crunch vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Gholdengo: 228-269 (72.3 - 85.3%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
and again, healthy, no hazards, but Gold can't even KO back in this exchange if both are healthy.
252 SpA Gholdengo Make It Rain vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Zamazenta: 178-210 (54.7 - 64.6%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
That leaves Pult, who has to be Timid to outspeed, and
loses to Agility.
Again, we can calc no hazards and assume you haven't let Pult get touched.
252+ Atk Expert Belt Zamazenta Crunch vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Dragapult: 276-326 (87 - 102.8%) -- 18.8% chance to OHKO
(Obviously OHKO with 1 layer or SR)
You could Draco, and then leave yourself wide open.
252 SpA Choice Specs Dragapult Draco Meteor vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Zamazenta: 235-277 (72.3 - 85.2%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Or pray Zama is at half HP lol
252 SpA Choice Specs Dragapult Shadow Ball vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Zamazenta: 145-172 (44.6 - 52.9%) -- 27.3% chance to 2HKO
But again, you could just Tera Steel and eat a Draco, Make it Rain and Moonblast.
You don't even need Expert Belt tbh if you tera Steel, you could run HDB so you're always at full and free to eat attacks.
Tera Steel just makes it Zama-Crowned, y'know, the QB, obv broken mon lol.
Btw, I was being nice with the expert belt Iron Head set, I didn't want any complaints about this set being Tera reliant.
But, Tera Fairy is a clean OHKO on Val and Pult, and you avoid Draco.
And, if using Agility, you can free up a lot of those Speed EVs and put them towards bulk.
And who knows what sets will pop up given enough time.
Scarf, Howl, AV, Endure+Reversal, Solar Beam, Impression + Rest, etc.
This is more of a side point, but still.
I'm not even going to get into the CB set lol, those calcs are really insane.
So yeah, the mon with 660 BST that are distributed amazingly, an ability that gives it a free +1 in Defense, with a great movepool, is going to be broken in a Tera meta.
Let me save someone some embarrassment;
if your main talking point is that you need to burn your Tera to defensively check this mon, then that's just proof it's broken.
There should never be a mon that you have to burn your tera to handle it somehow.
Even the most broken mons in OU right now, like Val, Gambit, Pult have mons that can handle them without defensive tera.
Even if Val, Gambit, Pult offensively tera, there are still mons that handle them without needing to burn their tera.
So just think about that before you type anything.
We could suspect it again post-tera and I would vote no ban, but I'm failing to understand why anyone who knows what they're talking about thinks this mon is acceptable as of right now.
To the council members who voted no-ban... I'm assuming you just wanted to give us something to do.
In conclusion, keep in mind that I've posted calcs for the literal handful of mons that were talked about as checks.
Please remember that these are the few mons that don't get blown away by +3 and above Body Press sets.
There are teams that basically get 6-0 by Zama after an ID or two, especially Balance, and forsure without a Dozo.
Zama can pick it's counters, punches giant holes in teams, and hasn't reached it's full potential as an oppressive force.
Voting:
BAN