View attachment 335264
Well, this is one mon that I did not expect anyone to argue as broken this gen.
Mainly because it isn't. Look, Magnezone is not strictly bad in OU, but there's a reason it was previously floundering in the lower tiers for months: the loss of HP was a huge detriment to it, making it far less reliable at its main job and straight up flipping several match-ups. Magnezone isn't an issue not only because it only traps one type, but
it's not good enough at trapping that one type to significantly impact the viability of those mons, especially the Specs set. When you look at the current OU landscape, every other Steel theoretically has some kind of counterplay to it. Looking at the individual matchups regarding the Specs set:
Bisharp: Sure, Zone's Modest Electric moves (and Body Press, if it has that) are a guaranteed OHKO on Bisharp- on the other hand, Bisharp's
neutral Knock Off is a guaranteed 2HKO, and it outspeeds Modest, meaning you can't hard switch in unless you know it's going to use Iron Head (which is unlikely given how spammable Knock Off is). Zone can actually speed-creep Sharp by literally one point if Jolly, but then it loses the OHKO on Volt Switch and loses the guaranteed OHKO with Tbolt (and also Body Press, apparently).
MU: Unreliable
252+ Atk Black Glasses Bisharp Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Magnezone: 180-213 (64 - 75.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Corviknight: Now this KO is reliable. As far as the standard sets go, Zone will outspeed and OHKO Corv every time. U-turn does make it a bigger pain than Skarm, and rarer sets with Body Press can potentially 2HKO, but the former requires too much Speed investment vs 252 Speed Zone and the latter only works with Shed Shell.
MU: Reliable
Excadrill: Excadrill was never Zone's best match-up, and with the loss of HP Specs Zone can't OHKO. You can
maybe not instantly die to EQ if Grassy Terrain is up, but if its a HH set alongside Rillaboom you're just screwed.
MU: Bad
Ferrothorn: This match-up has easily been hurt the worst by the loss of HP. Specs straight up can't do anything to Ferro; even if you have Press, you only have a chance to
4HKO, and that dwindles to a possible 5HKO once Leech Seed is in play.
MU: Bad
4 Def Magnezone Body Press vs. 252 HP / 80 Def Ferrothorn: 98-116 (27.8 - 32.9%) -- 77.5% chance to 4HKO after Leftovers recovery
Heatran: Even the defensive set outspeeds and guaranteed OHKOs with either Magma Storm or Earth Power.
MU: Bad
Kartana: Kart's SpD is bad enough that even Zone's resisted hits can OHKO. However, Sacred Sword means that Zone cannot hard switch into Kart, often forcing one to scout; if it's definitely Scarf and goes for something else, you're good. If it's Band, you also have to watch out for Knock Off. And if it's LO- just forget it.
MU: Unreliable
252 Atk Choice Band Kartana Knock Off (97.5 BP) vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Magnezone: 180-212 (64 - 75.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Melmetal: EQ and Superpower destroy you. The fact Zone actually outspeeds is countered by the fact that it doesn't OHKO even the least tanky Melmetal without hazard support. And if it's AV, you don't even 2HKO with Tbolt. You can catch Band if it locks into DIB or Thunder Punch, but you're basically forced to scout BandMetal before Zone can actually come in, so Mel can potentially switch out first.
MU: Unreliable
252+ SpA Choice Specs Magnezone Thunderbolt vs. 32 HP / 0 SpD Melmetal: 345-406 (82.3 - 96.8%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
252+ SpA Choice Specs Magnezone Thunderbolt vs. 128 HP / 252+ SpD Assault Vest Melmetal: 153-180 (34.5 - 40.6%) -- guaranteed 3HKO
Skamory: The classic match-up; now, Skarm seems to actually be less reliable than Corv on first glance since it can slot Press in much more easily, which is a guaranteed 2HKO. If Skarm is at full HP, it can win the 1v1 if it hits Zone on the switch and survive on Sturdy. That said, this condition is situational and Zone's partner can easily take Skarm out after, meaning Zone has still done it's job.
MU: Reliable
252+ Def Skarmory Body Press vs. 0 HP / 4 Def Magnezone: 180-212 (64 - 75.4%) -- guaranteed 2HKO
Scizor: The one non-OU mon I'll be commenting on, Tbolt reliably 2HKOs even SpD Scizor. However, U-turn is a thing, so if Scizor isn't low enough it just switches out into a potentially scary teammate. Also, the rare Superpower decimates Zone.
MU: Unreliable
As you can see, Specs Zone is simply too unreliable against most of the resident Steel (minus the birds) to truly be a meta-defining mon;
of the 9 main match-ups, 2 are good, 4 are iffy and 3 are straight up bad. Zo
ne's biggest problem is that, given its intended role, Zone is actually pretty hard to position without the right support, as many Steels have ways of catching it on the switch, in some cases forcing you to scout with one of Zone's teammates before you bring it in, and in a game every bit of chip you take can potentially mean the difference between win or lose. While Dug also had a hard time coming in directly, it also has a far better speed tier. The silver lining is that Zone's role means that you don't have to worry about chip once it's in since Zone is usually only there for 1 or 2 opposing mons. Now, you may be asking why I haven't brought up the Iron Defense set yet. Well, simply put:
I think ID set is far superior to the Specs set since it actually lets Zone perform its intended role more reliably. Substitute gives it a valuable safety net, And Air Balloon allows it to ease offensive pressure against itself. For a brief comparison:
Bisharp: Extra Def investment means that Sharp can't 2HKO you with neutral Knock Off, whereas you still OHKO with neutral Body Press. +2 still has a good chance to OHKO, but Sharp does actually have to set-up to beat you.
MU: 50/50
Corviknight: Even with less investment you still outspeed and 2HKO Corv with Tbolt. Now, the drop it power does mean healthy Corv can potentially survive and U-turn out, so this is the one match-up I'd say is a bit worse.
MU: 50/50
Excadrill: Air Balloon completely changes the dynamic, as Iron Head does pitiful damage and you easily easily chunk Drill in exchange and OHKO after ID. This crucially means that Drill can't switch into you (only Steel type that would really consider that), which alone boosts this match-up a lot.
MU: Reliable
252+ Def Magnezone Body Press vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Excadrill: 266-314 (73.6 - 86.9%) -- guaranteed 2HKO after Leftovers recovery
Ferrothorn: And it would seem the Ferro-trapping days aren't necessarily done after all. This set allows Zone to do actual damage versus Ferro, 2HKOing after one ID. More crucially, Substitute lets it foil Ferro's Leech Seed attempts while caring less about Knock compared to Specs, meaning Ferro can't really do anything in return.
MU: Reliable
Heatran: Balloon means that Heatran actually has to hit Magma Storm against you, which combined with Sub potentially gives you a chance. Still not great.
MU: Unreliable
Kartana: Kartana is still a pain, but Banded Sacred Sword isn't guaranteed to OHKO this set, plus Zone can actually switch into Knock Off, so now you only need to make sure it's not LO.
MU: 50/50
252 Atk Choice Band Kartana Sacred Sword vs. 0 HP / 252+ Def Magnezone: 248-292 (88.2 - 103.9%) -- 25% chance to OHKO
Melmetal: Only Banded Superpower can answer ID Zone, and none of its other coverage can break Zone's sub, letting you get the ID necessary to 2HKO. Metal's low speed means that Zone can just take it easy once ID is in play.
MU: Reliable
Skarmory: Zone still decimates Skarm if it's lost even 1 HP, and Skarm's Body Press isn't even a reliable 2HKO.
MU: Reliable
Scizor: U-turn is annoying, but Zone can outspeed and safely sub, and isn't even reliably OHKOed by rare Superpower. Plus unlike Specs, ID Zone can actually do some damage to Scizor's teammate before being forced out.
MU: 50/50
As you can see, ID Zone has overall much better match-ups against Steels,
with 4 good, 4 okay and only 1 iffy, and only the match-up with Corviknight gets worse compared to Specs. Now, ID Zone does have the same issue as Specs Zone of safely getting it, especially since Balloon is so fragile, but having that Ground immunity can pack some nice benefits like dooming Metal if you come in on EQ (plus Teleport is still a thing). Chople Berry is another alternative depending on which Steels you most want to set-up on. Substitute is also huge since it means you're not automatically forced out by U-turn/Shed Shell shenanigans, meaning Zone can actually put some work in against non-Steels. Between its improved function in trapping Steels and having a bit more flexibility, I would say ID is the way to go if you use Zone.
TL;DR: Magnezone is by no means tier warping, and therefore not broken, since many Steels have counter-play to it and it can have a hard time coming in against its targets. That said, it's more specialized role does mean it's doing it's job as long as it can KO one or two opposing mons, and I personally believe it is more likely to accomplish this with the Iron Defense set vs the Specs set.