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Id just like to go over what has changed here from vanilla OU:
to A: Raikou is fucking fantastic in this meta. It beats all the common defoggers + the most common spinner in Starmie, so it heavily discourages hazard removal just by being on a team. Its very good on spike stacking teams, and matches up well against some of the newly buffed pokemon (it cant switch into Rude, but can threaten it with Aura Sphere, it can threaten out goli, it has a 40% change to OHKO mudsy with scald after a competitive boost). Its naturally very fast and not very easy to threaten offensively. However, it doesnt hit very hard without a boost, and its lack of recovery means getting worn down is a big problem. Its still fast enough to be a threat at low HP, but the best use of raikou is alongside Zarude, discouraging one of its best counters, Mandi, from coming in and doing its thing.
to A: This is pretty obvious to anyone who's played the tier, Tough Claws Zarude is VERY good. This thing punishes free turns like nothing else, and necessitates a dark resistance on every team. Its also deceptively versatile, with Scarf, Band, and BU sets in grassy terrain all seeing use. With the nerf, its lost a little bit of its breaking power (eg, it cant OHKO a +1 Mudsdale with Power Whip anymore) but its still a very good wallbreaker, and your team will most certainly always be good with this on it. Its not a necessity by any stretch of the imagination, and its VERY vulnerable to Status and being knocked, but its a very very good breaker and makes physical offence immensely powerful.
to A-: Buzzwole is one of two mons that got MUCH better in a meta where Zarude rules. It is by far the most consistent counter to Zarude, resisting every move the band and scarf variants run, and only fearing the very rare Grassy Seed Acrobatics Variant, which is pretty telegraphed and easy to play around. Its not a bad mon outside of Zarude either, being strong and able to spread Toxic. Rocky Helmet physdef is the most common variant, but I've played around with adamant max hp max atk and it does its job at countering Zarude while still being able to apply a lot more offensive pressure, and overall is just a really good mon in the current meta. Also fucks up Goli pretty well.
to A-: Goli is a mon that surprised me with how good it was. The Sp.def boost is very noticeable, and its ability to be an offensive answer to Zarude is very fun. First Impression in general is very powerful, putting pressure on the opponent to not their mons HP drop too low lest they be picked off. Its also in theory a good offensive check to Obstagoon, but then Goon uses Obstruct on the first turn and the Goli has to switch out in fear. Its by far the best spiker in the tier (RIP Thundy), and can force progress with Knock. Overall, a very interesting addition to the meta that I personally didnt like at first, but has really grown on me with its offensive utility.
to B+: Mudsy is a little hard to fit on a team (hence why its in B instead of A) but reliable recovery really makes Stamina shine. Its one of the best rockers, and a good check to the Goon, lando, Volt-turn, and all sorts of crazy stuff. Physical Offence is by far the best playstyle in this meta, which is very good for Mudsy, as all it needs is one turn to go its way in order to snowball. Plays exactly how you'd expect, solid mon, very fun to use.
to B+: This is a nom I really dont agree with, but I can see the appeal. Thundy is very good on rain offence, and is similar to Raikou in that it preys on Mandi, with the added bonus of also matching up decently VS buzzwole. My main problem with Thundy is that it really finds it hard to find free turns to Spike. Outside of rain, it also struggles pretty hard VS grounds, and gets fucked over by Zarude, which outspeeds. Its not a bad mon by any stretch of the imagination, though, it hits like a truck and is a good Zarude partner, it just feels a little outclassed by Raikou is all.
to B: 252 Atk Choice Band Tough Claws Zarude Darkest Lariat vs. 248 HP / 168+ Def Corviknight: 181-214 (45.3 - 53.6%) -- 91.8% chance to 2HKO after Stealth Rock and Leftovers recovery
gg
Jokes aside, corv really struggles in this meta. Zarude and Raikou being top tier threats really hampers it, and its a defogger that practically gives away free turns to Raikou, so it doesnt really see much use. It doesnt match up super well VS the other additions either, and just feels like a bit of a momentum sap. Not a great mon here. Use Mandi instead.
to B: Mandi is a great, great, great mon. Its the best defogger in the tier, given that it finds free turns all the time on the Zarude based Physical Offence teams that run rampant. Its not as reliable a Zarude check as Buzzwole, given that CC still does a decent amount to it, but resisting both its STABs means that whenever Zarude comes in, it has to make a decision between hitting Mandi or hitting everything else on the team, and that sort of prediction madness usually ends up with Mandi on top. Its also great vs Buzzwole, and has utility in being a Zarude check in that its immune to Future Sight, which is a huge problem for teams that rely on Buzzwole as their Rude counter. Its just generally very good, and I find it very hard to build a team without putting Mandi on there somewhere, as even though its not as offensively potent as Buzz, the utility it provides usually ends up serving me better than the Buzz. Very good mon.
to B: Starmie is fun as fuck. It hits really hard, spins, recovers and comes back later to do the same thing all over again. It has suffered a bit with the rise of Raikou, but its still very good at what it does, and is especially good on Rain. Definitely run this if you're running hazard spam, as its really the best viable spinner in this meta.