The Heist - Zebraiken     
IntroductionHey guys. It's been quite a while since I've posted one of my teams, but I finally got another one that's worth the effort. I've been using this team on the ladder the past two months or so, and it's definitely not short of achievements in that respect. I don't have screenshots because of that first reset, but I was somewhere around 600-55 between various accounts using this team alone, and at one point I had every single alt in the top 5. The alts that I used the most, Grounded and Zebraiken, sat at the top of the ladder ever since I had began laddering with this team. It was just downright one of the most fun teams I had ever played with, and I've really enjoyed laddering with it regardless of how stupid the NU ladder gets sometimes (I mean really, Acupressure + Mud Slap Dodrio?). The Heist also went 5-2 throughout the NU Open, losing only to mfhoundoom (who basically brought everything that this team struggles with in one match) and FLCL, who won the whole shebang. The Heist started off by being a rather silly attempt to use Life Orb Torterra + Rock Polish Golurk + SR Golem all together on one team (hence the alt name Grounded), but it gradually evolved throughout a few hundred matches to the bulky offense team that it is today. It has very few poor matchups and only really struggles against rare threats, primarily Ice-types like Articuno (especially if I cannot keep SR up) and grounded Poison-types like Muk or Arbok. This team was essentially the harbinger of the infamous Bulk Up Braviary, although I can't quite say it was built to perfectly capitalize off of BU Brav's capabilities - rather, Braviary was just the perfect glue for an otherwise decent-at-best team and pushed this team to make it what it is. That said, it's really started burning out on me and I'm just not having as much fun using it as I used to. Plus, people have actually started to use things that beat it, which is a real shame. I'm not saying you shouldn't use it on the ladder anymore, but everyone's much more prepared for the threats that this team carries and these cores have become very common nowadays, meaning that more often than not people will have the tools to break this kind of team apart. This team is named after the absolutely fantastic album from Macklemore, which was released a little while ago and I've been listening to it daily since (sorry Heist, I didn't really mean to name this after you but it just worked out that way!). If you haven't heard it yet, go give it a listen. Also, just a warning: this is quite a hefty read, so turn back now if you don't want to read a lot, haha. I'd prefer to thoroughly explain how I used this team and how I built it to help out those who are new to the tier or want to learn more about it rather than keep it short just for the sake of it. :) Lastly, throwing out props to FLCL, MMF, and Raseri in particular for being amazing friends and helping me work out the kinks on this team and many others throughout the last few months. You guys (and everyone else in #neverused) are the best. this the part of the show welcome to the heist The Team
Golem @ Lum Berry If you've never seen this set, you definitely haven't played NU in the last like six months. This is the most standard set for Golem and has been around for ages, but it still works wonderfully time and time again. I think there was a little stint in late BW1 NU where Raseri popularized using Toxic over Sucker Punch, which was absolutely amazing for luring Quagsire and Tangela, but other than that this is the tried and true Golem set and it hasn't changed. It's typically my lead unless I spy a potential counter-lead like Samurott or Cacturne, and I'll change my lead accordingly. Nearly all players just assume I'll lead with Golem and that I will let them drop it to its Sturdy just to get up SR - while that is all Golem has to do in some matchups, I often rely on Golem to do a lot more than that and I'll save it for midgame or later. Otherwise, I usually play very suicidally with Golem and I'll stay in in most situations where people expect me to switch out (I really can't tell you how many people have tried to set up their Gorebyss on Golem while I just EQ + Sucker Punch for a free KO and my Sturdy not even broken). Golem's got several utilities that are of varying importance to this team, mostly depending on team matchup. Sturdy is probably the best part about Golem and it's the primary reason I prefer it over any other Stealth Rock user. It's just useful in so many situations, letting me stay in without fear when stuff like the above Gorebyss situation happens, or helping me stall out rain turns or whatever by eating a Surf and using Rock Blast, then Sucker Punching whatever else to death. If the opponent carries any kind of spinner, I often keep Golem out of harm's way until I can kill off the spinner and set up SR safely. Getting up SR and keeping it is of utmost importance to this team, especially given how weak it can be to stuff like Articuno - also, if I let Golem drop to its Sturdy, all that I have left to check Braviary / Swellow is SR, various forms of priority, and residual damage via Aftermath and Rocky Helmet. Rock Blast is vital to deal with stuff like Baton Pass teams which sort of had a spike in popularity a while ago but people stopped using them for some reason despite the fact that they're incredible. I'll also save a 1 HP Golem if the opponent has no hazards up, because it means that later I've either got something to sack if needed or I can fire off a Sucker Punch and hopefully snipe something that's gotten out of control. Lum Berry over Leftovers is nothing but personal preference; the utility from Leftovers is very useful sometimes (notably for getting Sturdy back from switching into SR) but I've found that I really prefer Lum Berry for security and not having to worry about stuff like fast Exeggutor preventing me from getting SR up with Sleep Powder. Lefties would certainly absolve a few weaknesses but at the same time it also creates a few others. There have been a few games where I wished I had Leftovers, but many others where I was really glad I had Lum. Also, I run a lot more Speed than standard (and actually I creep beyond this spread I gave), primarily to outrun Golurk and 2HKO it with Earthquake while it either brings Golem down to Sturdy or it just sets up its own SR. Golurk is actually one of the biggest threats to this team when played well, so taking it out with Golem early on gives me a great advantage for the midgame and beyond. I put my life on the line
Garbodor @ Rocky Helmet Garbodor is the glue that holds my team together, against offensive, balanced, and defensive teams alike. This set is probably my favorite Garbo set I've ever used, which is saying a lot since I've used quite a few Garbo sets. Most defensive or bulky Garbodor sets prior to this were usually some combination of Spikes or Toxic Spikes / Clear Smog / Gunk Shot / Rock Blast @ Lefties, but I always felt that those sets were missing a lot of utility and stability (plus having a 70% accurate attack as your STAB with no investment tends to be a pretty awful idea in my experience). Garbodor received Pain Split from BW2 tutors iirc, and it's what really makes this set better than most others as it gives Garbo legitimate recovery. Garbo can set up Spikes on literally every defensive Pokemon in the tier and fears nothing but Taunt (and Will-O-Wisp / Spore, kinda). Amoonguss, Alomomola, Miltank, Tangela, Cradily, Regirock, even Gurdurr - you name it, it's Spikes bait. Toxic is super useful against these kinds of teams too and lets Garbodor win all of these matchups one on one, as well as catching Musharna and Gardevoir on the switch-in. I've actually stalled many a Miltank out of Heal Bell PP entirely just because I could take a few Body Slams (while they take RH damage), Toxic it, Pain Split back up to full, etc. Pain Split just makes it sososo reliable at just getting up multiple layers over and over against defensive teams, it's not even funny. That doesn't mean it's dead weight against offensive teams though, either. While it doesn't have nearly as many opportunities to stack up Spikes in a higher-paced offensive match, it usually can sneak its way in on a Fighting-type move and grab a layer or two. It's my favorite switch-in to stuff like Emboar, as Emboar will just Flare Blitz it and take more than half of its HP with Rocky Helm + recoil, and then take another dose of RH + recoil + Aftermath beyond that as it KOes Garbodor after I grab a layer (also fuck the people who still run Earthquake Emboar x_x). This works for just about everything too, from CB Braviary to Swellow to Kangaskhan or whatever else. I run quite a lot of Speed, but this is mostly because I have found that I am weak to my own Braviary set. Being able to outrun the standard spread for BU Braviary and Toxic it after breaking its Sub is essentially the only way I can stop it from running over my team, unless a) it's running weak Return in which case Gurdurr can set up alongside it or b) I get lucky with some predictions from Skuntank and weaken it a bit and keep the Sub away, then force it out with Ludicolo. Rock Blast is also essentially a filler move. I had a few different moves there to test them all out earlier but I found I liked Rock Blast the best for two primary reasons. One, my team really doesn't like SubDisable Haunter at all, and I don't want to insta-lose to it if Skuntank dies. Two, it has occasionally hit more than twice and done significant damage to a very threatening Articuno lategame. I'd be fine with any suggestions for replacements, but keep in mind I've tested quite a lot of stuff and nothing fits too well there outside of Rock Blast, haha. I’m gonna pop some tags, only got twenty dollars in my pocket
Gurdurr @ Eviolite An incredibly standurrd set (so I probably won't have as much to say about it as the rest), but still one of my favorite mons to use. It has pretty solid defensive bulk and lets me check all of the incredibly dangerous Normal-types in NU, like Kangaskhan, Zangoose, Cinccino, etc. Garbodor is an excellent pivot and can rack up a ton of damage simply by switching into those guys, but most of the time I prefer to double switch Gurdurr in to threaten them out and rack up Spikes damage. Mach Punch also gives me a third form of priority (outside of Golem and Skuntank) and helps me finish off weakened stuff like Floatzel, Swellow, Zangoose and the like. Those all have priority, and are faster than Skuntank, so I really don't like trying to push the Sucker Punch mindgame with them and prefer to just finish them off with Mach Punch if they're in range. Gurdurr is my primary tool against most offensive or hyper offense-esque teams. It's bulky enough to take a hit from just about anything except Psychic-types and boosted Flying-types (Choice Scarf Braviary fails to OHKO with Brave Bird!) and the combination of Drain Punch and Mach Punch allows it to take punishment and trade off a bit of its HP in exchange for KOing a threat that would otherwise run through my team. This is particularly helpful against stuff like Shell Smash Carracosta, who would 6-0 me if I didn't carry Gurdurr. I don't think there's anything else in the tier that gives me the combination of bulk, power, and priority that it carries. Against bulkier teams though, Gurdurr is more or less dead weight. It can't boost on really anything without fear of getting statused, and even with Guts activated it doesn't hit hard enough to break Musharna, Garbodor, or Alomomola. I have experimented with a couple different out-of-the-norm sets, like Toxic > Bulk Up to nail incoming Alomomola and Musharna, but it turned out to be more situational than helpful and I really missed being able to Bulk Up on more offensive teams and straight up sweeping. That, and people kept using dumb things like Rest + Curse Cradily when I wasn't using Bulk Up so yeaaah. If I were to replace anything on my team, this would be it... but I don't know if anything can even replace it for me. :( Underneath this fragile frame
Braviary @ Leftovers KACAW. SubBU Braviary is a monster, and anyone who has faced it will probably agree. It sets up on every defensive threat in NU bar Power Gem + Toxic Probopass, and even bulky Rock-types like Regirock are stalled out of Stone Edge / Rock Slide PP thanks to Substitute and Roost, and then Brav has freedom to just boost up to +6 / +6 and destroy everything. Braviary has 100 base HP on the dot, letting him make 101 Subs (preventing stuff like Seismic Toss Miltank, Hypno, and Lickilicky from ruining the fun). The given EV spread also always prevents Amoonguss's Sludge Bomb and Alomomola's Scald from OHKOing and 2HKOing Braviary's Sub respectively, and 80 Speed allows Braviary to outrun max Spe Adamant Rampardos (which I have lost a match to before, thanks to it outspeeding what I had before). This thing is next to impossible to beat if you don't carry any of the following: a bulky Electric-type, an Encore user, Golem or something that can use Rock Blast, or SubDisable Haunter. That's it. Super effective attacks? There was one match where I set up on a Choice Band Golurk locked into Ice Punch and proceeded to win the game. This set is used rather than any other Braviary set because I needed something that could shred through defensive teams (especially Amoonguss) for me without suiciding itself on Brave Bird recoil + SR. I had Ludicolo, who is an awesome offensive threat, but a neutral nature 90 base Special Attack just isn't enough to punch through things like SpDef Amoonguss or Lickilicky. That said, SubBU Brav doesn't always hold its weight against more offensive teams. Against teams like Zangoose / Rotom-A / Ludicolo / whatever, Brav's role is usually just to tank some attacks that you wouldn't expect it to be able to (it lives a Swellow Facade, with no rocks up) and just hit hard with Brave Bird, even with no investment. One thing that I've seriously considered is changing the spread back up to 252 Atk / 252 Spe Jolly, which prevents it from being revenged / stopped by a lot more things (Ludicolo, Samurott, outspeeding Taunt Skuntank) and makes it significantly more useful against offensive teams as well as a lot stronger, but the additional special bulk and 101 HP subs are quite nice. I don't know, but being able to live a Rotom-A Thunderbolt has saved my ass in more than a few matches. It's worth thinking about if you plan on using this team, though. Anyway, just to reiterate myself: Braviary is incredible and well-deserving of its S-rank in NU. Here we go back, this is the moment
Skuntank @ Leftovers Another rather standard set, but one of the best "safety valve" Pokemon you can get. I actually disliked using Skuntank for quite a long time before FLCL converted me to appreciate it, and now I use it on like every team smh. I basically rely on Skuntank as a backup check to everything, even in situations like trying to face down a +2 Gorebyss that just crit my Ludicolo. I deviate from the standard spread a little (which is 20 HP / 252 Atk / 232 Spe, iirc) because I don't think the 20 HP is worth all that mach and it gives me the ability to tie with other skunks at the very worst, which has won me a skunk war multiple times. Poison Jab is much much much better than Crunch in my experience, as mono-Dark coverage is pretty mediocre and Poison Jab lets me do things like KO an Absol at ~60% and 2HKO Emboar on the switch-in. I can always play around Musharna and stuff too, since Skuntank puts pressure on Musharna and it's usually rather easy to identify what it's gonna do depending on how much HP Musharna has left and the decisions that my opponent has made throughout the match. Aftermath is an awesome and underrated tool of Skuntank's. If I'm facing down something like CB Braviary and all I have left is Skuntank out and a slightly weakened Gurdurr in the back, Sucker Punch + Aftermath + BB recoil will push Braviary down into Mach Punch range for the win. If Braviary switched into SR, it's basically dead from BBing Skuntank. Outside of checking basically everything in NU, Skuntank's primary role is beating Musharna for the rest of my team. No matter what Musharna does, if I predict correctly I can push it into KO range for everything else on my team, especially after it takes hazard damage from switching back in later. Skuntank is also my go-to guy for getting damage onto dangerous Pokemon like Articuno (even though it's kinda pitiful damage, being able to Taunt it and at least try to poison it is always good) and Eelektross. Make the money, don't let the money make you
Ludicolo @ Life Orb IMO, Ludicolo is hands-down the best Pokemon in NU. It just checks so much as an offensive Pokemon while also being incredibly threatening after a single turn of setup... if you haven't used Ludicolo in NU yet, you should. Anyway, Ludi is my primary form of offense early to mid-game until I get Brav rolling, and is my primary method of forcing switches thanks to its insane coverage. Just about everything that can "reliably" switch into Ludicolo is set-up bait for Garbodor, and I often make use of double-switching early in the game to drop a few layers and make it easier on Ludicolo when the opponent's team needs to be put out of its misery. What's really nice is that Ludicolo puts a ton of pressure on every single spinner in the tier, threatening to OHKO all of them before they can get a spin off which really eases my worries about them. Spinners are always a pain for teams like this that carry hazards but no Ghost-type, but I am really not too worried about them simply because Ludicolo is mitey. While it's an excellent offensive tool, Ludicolo also holds my team together against basically every other Water-type in NU. Being able to live a +2 Gorebyss Ice Beam and OHKOing in return is something that nothing else in the tier can do. I've thought about running a bulkier set to help Ludicolo fit more into the "bulky" mold of my team (and also so I don't get fucked when Gorebyss crits my Ludicolo) but running max Speed is vital for it to keep Swords Dance Samurott from always outspeeding and mutilating it with Megahorn. Samurott is a pretty strong threat to the rest of my team, so it's pretty important for Ludicolo to at least act as a check. I have also debated with using Modest as it outspeeds everything in rain anyway (plus it actually lets me win 1vs1 against other Ludicolo) but just lets it hit much harder, but there's still the issue of losing to Jolly Samurott. :/ Bought a one night stand, just a bootleg ImportableConclusionI'll keep it short, since I doubt you want to read any more than you already have. This team has been incredibly fun to use throughout its lifespan, and I wanna shout out to everyone that's helped me out with it at some point or another but then that'd be too many people. I don't really have that much to say that I haven't already, but this would feel weird without any kind of formal ending. I don't expect much in the way of rates, considering that I know this team inside and out and there isn't too much to change without drastically altering the team. Think of it more like a reference point for those trying to get into NU, I guess. To everyone that I told this would be out "tomorrow", sorry for taking so long, but I hope the wait was worth it. Thanks for reading! |