Everybody expected OR/AS to bring huge changes to the metagame, but few imagined how ridiculous the new threats really are. Old staples have now gained some very tough enemies: both GeoXern and Scarf Kyogre now has to worry about Primal Groudon; EKiller's Espeed hits about as hard as MRay's after STAB, thanks to that 180 base attack. I think it can be safely agreed on that these new threats will bring dramatic changes that force people to revamp their priorities in team building.
So I've taken a more balanced approach in constructing this team. Ubers has seen too much of hazard laying hyper offense IMO. In fact, with how powerful the new threats are, sweepers don't really need 2 or 3 layers of Spikes to blast through counters (MRay just needs something to break Sash and Multiscale, pretty much).
Team Preview:
Mega Rayquaza and Primal Groudon are both offensive titans. Mega Rayquaza is extremely hard to check once set up, and therefore my instant choice at sweeping. Primal Groudon is a powerful tank that fulfills multiple roles at the same time.
Revenge Killing:
With so much priority and speed boosting running around, I chose Sash Deoxys-A as the main revenge killer to guarantee an attack. Scarf user in this case is Jirachi, which fulfills more of a fast support role.
Defensive Core:
Support Arceus-Water and physically defensive Yveltal provide pivoting, utility and checks to key threats.
Team Details:
Rayquaza-Mega @ Life Orb
Ability: Delta Stream
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Dragon Ascent
- Earthquake
- Extreme Speed
Everybody is saying how broken this thing is, and they have a point. Ubers is already full of dangerous sweepers like Ekiller Arceus and GeoXern that jump at free turns and proceed to wreak havoc, but MRay brings it to a whole new level. Once it sets up, best we can do is try to revenge kill it, as the things that can wall it are few and far between, with some of them being shitty mons that really shouldn't be found in Ubers (e.g. Avalugg or to a lesser extent Mega Aerodactyl and Mega Aggron) and most of others utilizing sets that don't achieve much else.
So I've opted for this Dragon Dance set as the win condition. It might seem odd to have Espeed on a speed boosting sweeper, but the utility it provides is too good to pass up. It allows Rayquaza to act as a revenge killer against weakened sweepers, and even after setting up, sometimes it's needed to win priority vs. priority wars. Dragon Dance is the boosting move of choice, because with Swords Dance, you have to rely on Espeed quite a bit against fast threats. Yet Espeed is a somewhat weak move in a meta where fast sweepers/scarfers aren't necessarily frail. Arceus forms need only 96 speed EVs and a boosting nature to outspeed max speed Adamant MRay, are otherwise bulky enough to withstand a +2 Espeed, and can proceed to cripple it with burn or in some cases retaliate with super effective Judgment. Scarf Zekrom has a good chance of withstanding a +2 Espeed and end MRay's sweep with Outrage. Scarf Xerneas is also bulky enough to barely survive +2 Espeed, especially if some EVs are shifted to physical bulk. Yet if a DD is under MRay's belt, all of these wouldn't be problems:
LO MRay 252+ +1 Dragon Ascent vs. 252/160 Arceus: 90.5% - 106.5% (guaranteed OHKO after SR)
LO MRay 252+ +1 Dragon Ascent vs. 0/0 Xerneas: 132% - 155.2%
LO MRay 252+ +1 Earthquake vs. 0/0 Zekrom: 150.1% - 176.8%
With a sky high attack, even at +1 MRay retains most of its other offensive benchmarks:
LO MRay 252+ +1 Dragon Ascent vs. 4/252+ Eviolite Chansey: 110.7% - 130.5% (Blissey takes more)
LO MRay 252+ +1 Dragon Ascent vs. 248/252+ Yveltal: 87.6% - 103.7% (guaranteed OHKO after SR)
LO MRay 252+ +1 Dragon Ascent vs. 248/252+ Lugia: 77.3% - 91.5% (guaranteed OHKO after SR)
LO MRay 252+ +1 Dragon Ascent vs. 248/252+ Ho-Oh: 100% - 117.8%
Groudon-Primal @ Red Orb
Ability: Desolate Land
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpD / 4 Spe
Careful Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Precipice Blades
- Lava Plume
- Roar
The added Fire typing is a godsend for Groudon, as now it is immune to Burns, formerly the worst enemy to Groudon's offensive presence. Its crippling 4x weakness to Water is also mostly neutralized with its ability. I have opted for a specially defensive version of PDon, to serve as the primary check to GeoXern (new threats might be powerful, but old staples haven't gone away either) as well as a safer sponge to Kyogre variants' Ice Beam and HP Ground. It now resists pretty much everything GeoXern carries except Psyshock and Focus Blast, so it can comfortably tank a hit from Xerneas (+2 Moonblast does only 43.8% - 51.4% to it) and proceed to Roar it. Stealth Rock is obviously there. Precipice Blades hits hard even without investment coming off of base 180 Attack, and serves as PDon's primary offensive presence. Finally Lava Plume. Despite a hindering nature, Lava Plume now comes off of base 150 Sp. Atk, gets boosted by both Sun and STAB, and has a handy 30% chance to burn that complements well with Groudon's 100/160 physical bulk.
Deoxys-Attack @ Focus Sash
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 20 Atk / 252 SpA / 236 Spe
Rash Nature
- Psycho Boost
- Extreme Speed
- Knock Off
- Low Kick
This is the revenge killer. It has enough speed to outspeed pretty much the entire unboosted tier, and has Focus Sash to take a hit from anything boosted. I'm choosing maximum Sp. Atk to let Psycho Boost hit like a truck. The speed investment is there to outspeed max speed Mega Gengar. Rest of the EVs are dumped on Attack. We can survive any hit from offensive MRay with Focus Sash, and OHKO 0/0 MRay with Psycho Boost. It's also capable of revenge killing GeoXern, sweeper PDon and Blaziken in a pinch: a combination of Psycho Boost + Extreme Speed puts GeoXern in E-speed range for MRay (it's a little shaky but I can live with this as a secondary check); it also means GeoXern cannot set up on it. Similarly, against 0/0 Double Dance Primal Groudon, Psycho Boost alone does 97.2% - 114.6%. The remaining 2 moves are mostly fillers: Low Kick deals with Steel types that resists ESpeed and STAB (debating whether to use Ice Beam to land a 2HKO on Yveltal); Knock Off provides further utility once Deoxys-A finishes its primary function of checking fast threats (especially after a special attack drop after Psycho Boost).
Arceus @ Splash Plate
Ability: Multitype
EVs: 248 HP / 164 Def / 96 Spe
Timid Nature
- Judgment
- Defog
- Recover
- Toxic
As you can see from above, the success of Deoxys-A relies heavily on my side free of hazards. Defog support is therefore crucial. What better Defog support is there than the good ol' support Arceus? The moves are pretty straightforward. I picked Water as the type because of two reasons:
1. It serves as an emergency sponge to Primal Kyogre if it switches in on my PDon;
2. It can actually hit Mega Gengar pretty hard with Judgment (unlike Grass).
Toxic is chosen over Will-O-Wisp, because if running Will-O-Wisp, Arceus has no way of pressuring opposing Primal Groudon. With Toxic, however, Arceus Water is capable of Toxic stalling defensive variants of Primal Groudon, and at least put offensive ones on a timer.
Jirachi @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 128 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 124 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Iron Head
- U-turn
- Healing Wish
- Trick
Because of the prevalence of Speed boosting sweepers and priority moves, Scarfers' effectiveness has arguably reduced. Scarf Jirachi is unique amongst Choice Scarf users because of its utility. It's not designed to revenge kill per se. Iron Head abuses Serene Grace for that flinch chance, and is powerful enough to dent or downright KO Fairy types that MRay dislikes. It also makes Jirachi an acceptable anti-lead against Deoxys-A, hopefully flinching it before it can lay down hazards. U-turn is also more of a utility move that allows Jirachi to escape from unfavorable match-ups and generate momentum. Scarf Jirachi has the speed to pull off Healing Wish uninterrupted, granting a second life to teammates. This is important, because should MRay gets itself crippled by status or the defensive mons whittled down (e.g. PDon has 0 recovery), Healing Wish might be way more valuable than hitting something with an attacking move. Healing Wish also synergizes very well with Deoxys-A, restoring its Focus Sash. Finally, Trick is there to cripple important defensive cores (Lugia, for example), should any one be bold enough to run stall in this meta. But really, this last moveslot is up for grabs.
I copied the EV spread off of Smogon, but I suspect it might be a little outdated. Advice on this is much appreciated.
Yveltal @ Leftovers
Ability: Dark Aura
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Foul Play
- Roost
- Sucker Punch
- Taunt
The final member of the team is physically defensive Yveltal, and it rounds out the team by checking a number of specific threats. First and foremost Yveltal is an Ekiller Arceus switch in (one of the safest there is). Most Mewtwo forms are also checked by the deadly Ygod. Ghost types, such as Giratina-O and Arceus-Ghost must also fear Yveltal. Physical attackers, such as Mega Scizor and Ho-Oh most likely lose 1 on 1 as well. Taunt is there to shut down defensive threats like Lugia and Blissey. It also forces things to attack which synergies with Sucker Punch (yes Aegislash I'm talking about you). Finally, Sucker Punch. It does a healthy 41.3% - 49% to 0/4 Mega Rayquaza. This is the final line of defense against an attempted MRay sweep should everything else fails, as it comes down to a Foul Play / Sucker Punch vs. Dragon Ascent / Extreme Speed coin toss.
Tough Enemies:
Yveltal: No Fairy, no Rock, no Electric, no Ice, nothing that hits Ygod super effectively. Of course, very few things can stop MRay sweep, and Yvetal certainly isn't one. But just saying "it'll die when I sweep" is probably very irresponsible. Nothing is a safe switch in at this point: some can switch into one set and others into another.
Darkrai: there really isn't anything that can absorb that Dark Void. Usually what I do is sack either Arceus or Yveltal to sleep, depending on his team, and hit him with Deoxys-A.
Powerful h&r: Specs Dialga, Palkia, Choice Genesect etc. They don't usually kill me right away, but because their counters don't really have much recovery, they become more powerful as time goes. E.g. if Dialga uses Fire Blast or Palkia uses Hydro Pump, then PDon is the go to sponge. However, if they use Draco Meteor or Spacial Rend, that'll take a huge chunk off of Pdon. The only Dragon resist, Jirachi however, despises Hydro Pump and Fire Blast.
So I've taken a more balanced approach in constructing this team. Ubers has seen too much of hazard laying hyper offense IMO. In fact, with how powerful the new threats are, sweepers don't really need 2 or 3 layers of Spikes to blast through counters (MRay just needs something to break Sash and Multiscale, pretty much).
Team Preview:
Offensive Core:
Mega Rayquaza and Primal Groudon are both offensive titans. Mega Rayquaza is extremely hard to check once set up, and therefore my instant choice at sweeping. Primal Groudon is a powerful tank that fulfills multiple roles at the same time.
Revenge Killing:
With so much priority and speed boosting running around, I chose Sash Deoxys-A as the main revenge killer to guarantee an attack. Scarf user in this case is Jirachi, which fulfills more of a fast support role.
Defensive Core:
Support Arceus-Water and physically defensive Yveltal provide pivoting, utility and checks to key threats.
Team Details:
Rayquaza-Mega @ Life Orb
Ability: Delta Stream
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Dragon Ascent
- Earthquake
- Extreme Speed
Everybody is saying how broken this thing is, and they have a point. Ubers is already full of dangerous sweepers like Ekiller Arceus and GeoXern that jump at free turns and proceed to wreak havoc, but MRay brings it to a whole new level. Once it sets up, best we can do is try to revenge kill it, as the things that can wall it are few and far between, with some of them being shitty mons that really shouldn't be found in Ubers (e.g. Avalugg or to a lesser extent Mega Aerodactyl and Mega Aggron) and most of others utilizing sets that don't achieve much else.
So I've opted for this Dragon Dance set as the win condition. It might seem odd to have Espeed on a speed boosting sweeper, but the utility it provides is too good to pass up. It allows Rayquaza to act as a revenge killer against weakened sweepers, and even after setting up, sometimes it's needed to win priority vs. priority wars. Dragon Dance is the boosting move of choice, because with Swords Dance, you have to rely on Espeed quite a bit against fast threats. Yet Espeed is a somewhat weak move in a meta where fast sweepers/scarfers aren't necessarily frail. Arceus forms need only 96 speed EVs and a boosting nature to outspeed max speed Adamant MRay, are otherwise bulky enough to withstand a +2 Espeed, and can proceed to cripple it with burn or in some cases retaliate with super effective Judgment. Scarf Zekrom has a good chance of withstanding a +2 Espeed and end MRay's sweep with Outrage. Scarf Xerneas is also bulky enough to barely survive +2 Espeed, especially if some EVs are shifted to physical bulk. Yet if a DD is under MRay's belt, all of these wouldn't be problems:
LO MRay 252+ +1 Dragon Ascent vs. 252/160 Arceus: 90.5% - 106.5% (guaranteed OHKO after SR)
LO MRay 252+ +1 Dragon Ascent vs. 0/0 Xerneas: 132% - 155.2%
LO MRay 252+ +1 Earthquake vs. 0/0 Zekrom: 150.1% - 176.8%
With a sky high attack, even at +1 MRay retains most of its other offensive benchmarks:
LO MRay 252+ +1 Dragon Ascent vs. 4/252+ Eviolite Chansey: 110.7% - 130.5% (Blissey takes more)
LO MRay 252+ +1 Dragon Ascent vs. 248/252+ Yveltal: 87.6% - 103.7% (guaranteed OHKO after SR)
LO MRay 252+ +1 Dragon Ascent vs. 248/252+ Lugia: 77.3% - 91.5% (guaranteed OHKO after SR)
LO MRay 252+ +1 Dragon Ascent vs. 248/252+ Ho-Oh: 100% - 117.8%
Groudon-Primal @ Red Orb
Ability: Desolate Land
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpD / 4 Spe
Careful Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Precipice Blades
- Lava Plume
- Roar
The added Fire typing is a godsend for Groudon, as now it is immune to Burns, formerly the worst enemy to Groudon's offensive presence. Its crippling 4x weakness to Water is also mostly neutralized with its ability. I have opted for a specially defensive version of PDon, to serve as the primary check to GeoXern (new threats might be powerful, but old staples haven't gone away either) as well as a safer sponge to Kyogre variants' Ice Beam and HP Ground. It now resists pretty much everything GeoXern carries except Psyshock and Focus Blast, so it can comfortably tank a hit from Xerneas (+2 Moonblast does only 43.8% - 51.4% to it) and proceed to Roar it. Stealth Rock is obviously there. Precipice Blades hits hard even without investment coming off of base 180 Attack, and serves as PDon's primary offensive presence. Finally Lava Plume. Despite a hindering nature, Lava Plume now comes off of base 150 Sp. Atk, gets boosted by both Sun and STAB, and has a handy 30% chance to burn that complements well with Groudon's 100/160 physical bulk.
Deoxys-Attack @ Focus Sash
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 20 Atk / 252 SpA / 236 Spe
Rash Nature
- Psycho Boost
- Extreme Speed
- Knock Off
- Low Kick
This is the revenge killer. It has enough speed to outspeed pretty much the entire unboosted tier, and has Focus Sash to take a hit from anything boosted. I'm choosing maximum Sp. Atk to let Psycho Boost hit like a truck. The speed investment is there to outspeed max speed Mega Gengar. Rest of the EVs are dumped on Attack. We can survive any hit from offensive MRay with Focus Sash, and OHKO 0/0 MRay with Psycho Boost. It's also capable of revenge killing GeoXern, sweeper PDon and Blaziken in a pinch: a combination of Psycho Boost + Extreme Speed puts GeoXern in E-speed range for MRay (it's a little shaky but I can live with this as a secondary check); it also means GeoXern cannot set up on it. Similarly, against 0/0 Double Dance Primal Groudon, Psycho Boost alone does 97.2% - 114.6%. The remaining 2 moves are mostly fillers: Low Kick deals with Steel types that resists ESpeed and STAB (debating whether to use Ice Beam to land a 2HKO on Yveltal); Knock Off provides further utility once Deoxys-A finishes its primary function of checking fast threats (especially after a special attack drop after Psycho Boost).
Arceus @ Splash Plate
Ability: Multitype
EVs: 248 HP / 164 Def / 96 Spe
Timid Nature
- Judgment
- Defog
- Recover
- Toxic
As you can see from above, the success of Deoxys-A relies heavily on my side free of hazards. Defog support is therefore crucial. What better Defog support is there than the good ol' support Arceus? The moves are pretty straightforward. I picked Water as the type because of two reasons:
1. It serves as an emergency sponge to Primal Kyogre if it switches in on my PDon;
2. It can actually hit Mega Gengar pretty hard with Judgment (unlike Grass).
Toxic is chosen over Will-O-Wisp, because if running Will-O-Wisp, Arceus has no way of pressuring opposing Primal Groudon. With Toxic, however, Arceus Water is capable of Toxic stalling defensive variants of Primal Groudon, and at least put offensive ones on a timer.
Jirachi @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Serene Grace
EVs: 128 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 124 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Iron Head
- U-turn
- Healing Wish
- Trick
Because of the prevalence of Speed boosting sweepers and priority moves, Scarfers' effectiveness has arguably reduced. Scarf Jirachi is unique amongst Choice Scarf users because of its utility. It's not designed to revenge kill per se. Iron Head abuses Serene Grace for that flinch chance, and is powerful enough to dent or downright KO Fairy types that MRay dislikes. It also makes Jirachi an acceptable anti-lead against Deoxys-A, hopefully flinching it before it can lay down hazards. U-turn is also more of a utility move that allows Jirachi to escape from unfavorable match-ups and generate momentum. Scarf Jirachi has the speed to pull off Healing Wish uninterrupted, granting a second life to teammates. This is important, because should MRay gets itself crippled by status or the defensive mons whittled down (e.g. PDon has 0 recovery), Healing Wish might be way more valuable than hitting something with an attacking move. Healing Wish also synergizes very well with Deoxys-A, restoring its Focus Sash. Finally, Trick is there to cripple important defensive cores (Lugia, for example), should any one be bold enough to run stall in this meta. But really, this last moveslot is up for grabs.
I copied the EV spread off of Smogon, but I suspect it might be a little outdated. Advice on this is much appreciated.
Yveltal @ Leftovers
Ability: Dark Aura
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Atk / 252 Def
Impish Nature
- Foul Play
- Roost
- Sucker Punch
- Taunt
The final member of the team is physically defensive Yveltal, and it rounds out the team by checking a number of specific threats. First and foremost Yveltal is an Ekiller Arceus switch in (one of the safest there is). Most Mewtwo forms are also checked by the deadly Ygod. Ghost types, such as Giratina-O and Arceus-Ghost must also fear Yveltal. Physical attackers, such as Mega Scizor and Ho-Oh most likely lose 1 on 1 as well. Taunt is there to shut down defensive threats like Lugia and Blissey. It also forces things to attack which synergies with Sucker Punch (yes Aegislash I'm talking about you). Finally, Sucker Punch. It does a healthy 41.3% - 49% to 0/4 Mega Rayquaza. This is the final line of defense against an attempted MRay sweep should everything else fails, as it comes down to a Foul Play / Sucker Punch vs. Dragon Ascent / Extreme Speed coin toss.
Tough Enemies:
Yveltal: No Fairy, no Rock, no Electric, no Ice, nothing that hits Ygod super effectively. Of course, very few things can stop MRay sweep, and Yvetal certainly isn't one. But just saying "it'll die when I sweep" is probably very irresponsible. Nothing is a safe switch in at this point: some can switch into one set and others into another.
Darkrai: there really isn't anything that can absorb that Dark Void. Usually what I do is sack either Arceus or Yveltal to sleep, depending on his team, and hit him with Deoxys-A.
Powerful h&r: Specs Dialga, Palkia, Choice Genesect etc. They don't usually kill me right away, but because their counters don't really have much recovery, they become more powerful as time goes. E.g. if Dialga uses Fire Blast or Palkia uses Hydro Pump, then PDon is the go to sponge. However, if they use Draco Meteor or Spacial Rend, that'll take a huge chunk off of Pdon. The only Dragon resist, Jirachi however, despises Hydro Pump and Fire Blast.
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