Hey everyone, I'm Jediment, going by kimchijeon on Showdown, and I'm back with another offense team. After the Dynamax ban, I spent some time re-evaluating my previous Sticky Web team and ultimately ended up with a totally new beast. I managed to take this team much further up the ladder than I'd ever gone in gen 8, and I think it's worthy of a post here as a result.
Meet the Team
This squad is a screens hyper offense team. I haven't seen too many screens teams running around in the 1700+ Elo range, and this team has a few things that help differentiate it from others. Excadrill + Grimmsnarl + Bisharp is the basic core of any good screens team right now, and the remaining three members were selected to both cover the core's weaknesses and provide strong win conditions.
Set Details
@ Focus Sash
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpA / 252 Spe
Naive Nature
- Stealth Rock
- Steel Beam
- Earthquake
- Rapid Spin
This is a bog standard suicide lead Excadrill. I lead with it every game unless I have particular prior knowledge of my opponent that tells me I should lead in some other way. Mold Breaker + Focus Sash allows you to get rocks up pretty much every time, though there are a few exceptions. When playing mirror matchups vs opposing Excadrill, always do Rapid Spin on turn 1 then EQ on turn 2. This forces a speed tie unless the opposing Excadrill switches out, in which case you get to put rocks. If the opposing Excadrill opts for the speed tie, only the winner of the tie will get to put rocks. This is kind of a bummer, but unfortunately there's not much you can do about it. Steel Beam is a tech that allows you to suicide to block Defog from birds, mainly Mandibuzz. You can also use it to pop Aegislash Air Balloons. If you don't like this tech, running Iron Head with a Jolly nature and 4 points in Def is an option as well.
@ Black Glasses
Ability: Defiant
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Sucker Punch
- Swords Dance
- Iron Head
-Throat Chop
Bisharp is the GOAT of hyper offense in general and a critical component of keeping your hazards up, but is also a rock solid wallbreaker and cleaner. Dark/Steel is actually great coverage in this meta, and even with Adamant (239 speed) Bisharp can outrun and OHKO any standard variant of Sylveon and Clefable. Black Glasses seems to be a less common choice than Life Orb, but it really helps the matchup against balance and semistall teams that run lots of healing as they can't just stall you out for Life Orb damage by spamming Recover/Haze with Toxapex. Switching Bisharp into Defogs is a little scarier than it used to be, as many Mandibuzz and Corviknight now run Foul Play and Body Press, respectively, which both give you problems. However, Bisharp can 2HKO specially defensive Mandi with +2 Iron Head and goes first, so if you're full health and switch into the defog you still win, as Foul Play will do about 65% to +2 Bisharp. Body Press from Corvi will always OHKO, but if you scout Brave Bird then it's usually safe to go for Defog switchins as very few Corvi run both Brave Bird and Body Press.
@ Light Clay
Ability: Prankster
EVs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 SpD
Careful Nature
- Reflect
- Light Screen
- Taunt
- Spirit Break
Grimmsnarl is the best screens setter in the game right now, thanks to both its ability Prankster and its immunity to opposing Prankster mons. This also gives it effectively fantastic bulk when not switching in, as it can always put up a screen before the opponent hits it (unless it's Bullet Punch Lucario or speed-invested Crawdaunt). This is basically the best switch-in ever for Hydreigon and Dragapult, as it comfortably tanks their attacks and threatens a KO back with Spirit Break. Using this switch-in will give you plenty of opportunity to set up screens during a match. If you plan on sacrificing Grimmsnarl in a match, it's best to try to set one or both screens immediately before dying. Also, be aware of opposing Bisharp that may switch in on you - they're immune to your Taunt and will get a Defiant boost from Spirit Break. An alternate, slightly more offensive EV spread is 92 HP / 252 Atk / 164 Spe with an Adamant nature, which outspeeds Mandibuzz and puts a bunch of pressure on it.
@ Heavy-Duty Boots
Ability: Moxie
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Waterfall
- Earthquake
- Power Whip
Despite falling from its Dynamax-boosted throne as the king of OU, Gyarados is still probably the best Dragon Dance sweeper in the tier. This set makes for a fantastic wallbreaker and finisher. I would have figured this set was completely standard, but many players even at the very top of the ladder are surprised by Power Whip. Make sure to take advantage of this when the opponent brings Seismitoad, as they will probably try to bring it in on a predicted Waterfall. For this reason, I try not to show Power Whip until something I can OHKO with it is already out, to maximize the surprise factor. I rarely go for more than 1 DD, sometimes opting for none at all against slower teams. One DD is enough to outspeed Dragapult, and Gyara OHKOs Dragapult with EQ at +3 (high chance of an OHKO at +2 with rocks up). You can still be revenged by scarf Hydreigon Draco Meteor, as well as scarf Rotoms, at +1, so being aware of these threats on the opposing team is crucial if you plan on going for a sweep. Scarf Rotom-Mow is the most threatening as you can't OHKO it until +4 or something crazy. If you have screens up you can survive a Volt Switch from Scarf Rotom-Wash or Rotom-Heat and OHKO back with Power Whip/Waterfall. This set is walled by Ferrothorn as well, so always play Gyarados carefully if Ferro shows up in team preview.
@ Throat Spray
Ability: Bulletproof
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Clanging Scales
- Clangorous Soul
- Flamethrower
- Flash Cannon
This set is a great way to finish the game, as Kommo-o is bulky enough to withstand most forms of priority (it helps that it resists Aqua Jet and Sucker Punch) and fast enough to outspeed Dragapult. I usually try to keep this in reserve until the enemy team is weakened, particularly enemy Sylveon and Clefable, as Kommo-o can't OHKO them with Flash Cannon even at +2 and they OHKO in return with Hyper Voice/Moonblast. This set also hates Haze Toxapex and to a lesser extent Clear Smog Gastrodon. Unfortunately, this is the team's best way of dealing with Bulk Up Corviknight, so sometimes it needs to be played earlier than desired. One surprise tech that has won me a few games is putting Clanging Scales and Clangorous Soul next to each other in that specific order, as some Dittos will misclick Clangorous Soul allowing you to kill them for free.
@ Flame Orb
Ability: Guts
EVs: 124 HP / 252 Atk / 132 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Mach Punch
- Close Combat
- Earthquake
- Facade
Conkeldurr is really what brings this team together and a huge part of why it works so well. Conkeldurr provides the most immediate power as the only offensive mon on the team who requires no setup, as well as crucial speed control for stuff like scarf Hydreigon. Conk is a key Ferrothorn check, as many are expecting a Drain Punch, which only 2HKOs, and end up getting slapped with an OHKO from Close Combat. Earthquake is basically just for Aegislash, but it can be a good safety button to click if you think you've forced a switch but Guts isn't active yet. Facade is actually the most spammable move on this set, as many unsuspecting Fairies will switch into it. It also gives a 2HKO on Mandibuzz, same as CC does, but you don't have to worry about the defense drop. The EVs allow Conk to outspeed standard Sylveon and OHKO with Facade. You can sometimes OHKO Clefable with Facade as well, but it depends on the set. Be aware that LO Clefable still outspeeds you. A final tip is that spamming Mach Punch is a great way to do loads of chip to opposing Dracovish, who will deal weak damage to you with Fishious Rend for going second.
Threats
- Bulk Up + Brave Bird - The only way to deal with this thing is to scout the set early on. Predicting the set and switching Kommo-o or Grimmsnarl in on the first Bulk Up is crucial, as if it gets 3 Bulk Ups then the game is pretty well over. It can be possible to get past the second Bulk Up but it's challenging. This thing is by far the team's biggest threat.
- Fairies - 3 mons on this team are weak to fairy, one of them 4x. Bisharp doesn't exactly tank Fairy moves well either. It takes quite a bit of care to play around these two. Usually I rely on sacking something and bringing in Conk or Bisharp to revenge, or Grimm to set up a Light Screen. It's possible to play around them well, there just isn't a straightforward Fairy killer anywhere on the team.
- Substitute sweepers - Since the team lacks bulk, Substitute users, especially SubDD sets, can be a big threat as popping the sub usually means sacking something. Dracozolt is a bit less concerning as it can't set up behind the Sub if I opt for setting screens. Dragapult, on the other hand, is a terror if it gets a DD up and Bisharp isn't still alive. Without Bisharp I have no way to deal with Dragapult Phantom Force spam, since it ignores screens with Infiltrator.
Replays
Conclusion
I think I've taken this team as high as I personally can on the ladder (I'm not exactly a top tier player) but I'm really proud of how strong it's been and I hope everyone can have some fun with it. I'm likely going to be working on a new team, but this is probably my favorite one I've ever built or used. Enjoy!
Special Thanks
Jordy
Scalchop
Robot7620
Volarion
Conclusion
I think I've taken this team as high as I personally can on the ladder (I'm not exactly a top tier player) but I'm really proud of how strong it's been and I hope everyone can have some fun with it. I'm likely going to be working on a new team, but this is probably my favorite one I've ever built or used. Enjoy!
Special Thanks
Jordy
Scalchop
Robot7620
Volarion
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