[OVERVIEW]
Kartana is one of the most threatening Pokemon in the USM metagame due to it having insanely high Attack and superb Speed, making Kartana incredibly hard to counter defensively. Unfortunately, low base HP and pitiful Special Defense make Kartana one of the most specially frail Pokemon in the tier. It is able to salvage its decent physical bulk thanks to a high Defense stat, however. Its Grass / Steel typing also assists Kartana defensively, as it resists many different types and only has two weaknesses, Fighting and Fire. Offensively, Kartana's typing is also appreciated, especially alongside the coverage move Sacred Sword. Finally, Beast Boost allows Kartana to boost its Attack every time it gets a KO and makes consistent defensive counterplay incredibly hard to come by.
[SET]
name: Paper Cut (Swords Dance)
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Leaf Blade
move 3: Sacred Sword
move 4: Defog / Smart Strike / Knock Off
item: Fightinium Z / Grassium Z
ability: Beast Boost
nature: Jolly
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Swords Dance is used to double Kartana's Attack, allowing it to threaten the entire metagame. As for the most common attacking moves, Leaf Blade is the primary STAB move, and it is very strong in conjunction with Kartana's high base Attack. Additionally, Sacred Sword is the best complementary coverage move, hitting Steel-types that Leaf Blade fails to threaten sufficiently such as Heatran and Ferrothorn. Defog is often used as a support move despite Kartana's main goal being to pose a threat offensively, as the tier is full of entry hazards and having a strong, fast remover is helpful on many teams. Another attacking option is Smart Strike, which can be used to hit Fairy-types such as Clefable and do more damage to opposing Grass-types such as Mega Venusaur and Tangrowth than either of the alternative attacking options. Knock Off is an option if you deem it to be worthwhile, especially due to the fact that defensive Celesteela and Zapdos variants otherwise can prove to be problematic to Kartana while switch-ins like Choice Scarf Landorus-T can get severely crippled by a well-timed Knock Off. Finally, Substitute can also be used alongside a bulkier EV spread to allow more free setup opportunities.
Set Details
========
The EV spread allows Kartana to maximize damage output and Speed, as it is meant to threaten teams offensively, and it is part of a congested Speed tier, making Jolly the optimal nature as well. As for potential items for Kartana, Fightinium Z is a great choice, often being used to threaten a lot of would-be checks and counters to Kartana with a boosted All-Out Pummeling, damaging opposing Celesteela, Mega Scizor, and Magearna. Grassium Z is an alternative that allows Kartana to have an essential powerful one-time attack in Bloom Doom, removing opposing Landorus-T and Toxapex with minimal prior damage and even breaking through bulky switch-ins such as Zapdos with minimal residual damage at +2. The third potential Z-Move on this set would be Darkinium Z, which is the best to choice if you wish to hit Zapdos and Mega Venusaur while still damaging Celesteela to a decent extent. With this said, it is far less consistent than the two aforementioned alternatives. It is worth noting that Night Slash gives a higher Z-Move Base Power than Knock Off, making it often the best move to use in conjunction with Darkinium Z. Leftovers can be utilized on the Defog + Swords Dance variants if you wish to increase Kartana's longevity and the number of times you can switch it against hazards. Ideally, the set with Leftovers would be used with 28 Special Defense EVs in order to assure that Kartana takes under half from Clefable's Moonblast, letting you switch Kartana in on it twice with or without Stealth Rock being up, assuming it stays in afterwards to gain Leftovers recovery. Finally, if using Substitute, the EV spread should take 8 HP and 60 Special Defense EVs out of Attack so that Kartana can always survive Toxapex's Scald behind a Substitute, letting it take the most advantage of Substitute without compromising much. If you want Kartana to do this and also take Gyro Ball from Ferrothorn when behind a Substitute 100% of the time, you can opt to run a bulkier spread with 120 HP and 8 Special Defense EVs, but keep in mind this involves taking a lot of EVs out of Attack.
Usage Tips
========
Swords Dance Kartana is meant predominantly to poke holes earlier on in games. Cleaning or sweeping entire teams is not usually possible due to the plethora of revenge killers that outrun a Kartana that lacks a Speed boost or Choice Scarf. However, Swords Dance Kartana is one of the best bulky core breakers in the tier, tearing through common stall teams and sweeping them with ease due to their lack of faster Pokemon and hard counters. Also, Defog allows Kartana to essentially function as a full counter to Ferrothorn and also work as a convenient, offensive entry hazard remover that can be slapped on more offensive teams in need.
Team Options
========
Swords Dance Kartana should be used alongside teams that have some form of late-game cleaner or alternative sweeper that is meant to sweep more than break open holes, such as Magearna or Volcarona. In addition, Pursuit support is very much appreciated, as Latios and Latias outrun it while also resisting the moves that it uses most often; their ability to revenge kill Kartana limit it to one KO each time it is on the field until they are eliminated from the game. Pairing Kartana with slow Volt Switch and U-turn users such as Stealth Rock Landorus-T and Assault Vest Magearna is ideal because they let Kartana get in easier against common special attackers and threats that otherwise prevent it from getting in safely. Tapu Bulu provides Kartana with Grassy Terrain that can be beneficial for strengthening an already strong STAB Leaf Blade and gives it a bit of health each turn to make up for the lack of Leftovers recovery. Finally, when using Fightinium Z, it is great to use Swords Dance Kartana alongside a generic physical Choice Scarf user such as Landorus-T, as All-Out Pummeling gets rid of or cripples most physically defensive Pokemon.
[SET]
name: Paper Plane (Choice Scarf)
move 1: Leaf Blade
move 2: Sacred Sword
move 3: Smart Strike / Knock Off
move 4: Defog / Knock Off
item: Choice Scarf
ability: Beast Boost
nature: Jolly
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Leaf Blade is the Grass-type STAB move that hits quite hard for a move on a Choice Scarf user thanks to Kartana's high Attack stat, and Sacred Sword is the best complementary coverage move, hitting opposing Steel-types such as Ferrothorn and Heatran. Another potential move can be Smart Strike, which is a secondary STAB move that can knock out Fairy-types such as Clefable. Knock Off is a great utility move to cripple Pokemon that wall Choice Scarf Kartana such as Celesteela and Zapdos, ridding them of their Leftovers. On the utility front, Defog can be used in the final slot if you want a quick, convenient form of entry hazard removal to slap onto more offensively oriented teams. Finally, Giga Impact is viable to remove Volcarona, as teams with Choice Scarf Kartana often are more offensive, lack another revenge killer, and struggle to defensively check Volcarona to the necessary extent, giving Kartana an emergency button to remove it at the cost of Kartana giving up a free turn after use to recharge.
Set Details
========
The EV spread allows Kartana to have a high damage output and Speed stat, as it is meant to be threatening and quick. Jolly is also used in order to maximize Kartana's Speed, as many Pokemon have similar base Speed stats. Choice Scarf is present to let Kartana clean opposing teams and act as a revenge killer, letting it outrun everything that is unboosted and most setup sweepers at +1. In addition, Defog can let it act as an entry hazard remover for a team that is in need of one, essentially letting you have an emergency button in case of a situation that is getting out of hand due to the presence of entry hazards on the field.
Usage Tips
========
Choice Scarf Kartana is meant to clean teams later on in games with the assistance of its ability, Beast Boost. Beast Boost lets it snowball Attack boosts and run through weakened teams. In addition, Choice Scarf Kartana functions as a revenge killer earlier on in games, outrunning and defeating or forcing out most common offensive threats in the metagame such as Greninja, Tapu Lele, and Keldeo. While locking into Defog is not particularly ideal, as Kartana has to switch out afterwards or become fodder, it is still convenient in some situations and should be used when entry hazards are proving to be problematic to your team during the early- to mid-game. Due to the fact that Swords Dance Kartana is the more common and threatening of the two sets, there are many occasions where you are facing an offensive team that lacks a true Kartana counter and you can take advantage of this via strategic utilization of this Kartana variant. Essentially, the opponent will often try to pivot to their faster, offensive checks that resist a certain move or predict you to use Swords Dance to break through a defensive pivot and Kartana can take advantage of this by hitting them with a strong attack right off the bat, making prediction easier to make, as you know it has to lock into a move.
Team Options
========
Choice Scarf Kartana is primarily used to clean up later on in games, so it should be paired with an early-game breaker that can poke holes and do significant damage to opposing defensive cores, such as Choice Band Tyranitar or Mega Medicham. Also, Spikes support is appreciated by Choice Scarf Kartana, as the residual damage does rack up on opposing teams over time, but it is worth noting that there is some awkward overlap with the fact that Kartana itself could have to use Defog to clear away its own Spikes depending upon the situation. Pursuit support is appreciated by this variant of Kartana as well, as Latios and Latias can get in the way of Kartana trying to sweep with Leaf Blade or Sacred Sword, which are its two most commonly used moves. Tapu Bulu is a great teammate, as Grassy Terrain lets you clean up late-game with Leaf Blade fairly often, and it also provides Kartana with a bit of recovery each turn. Finally, offensive teams often appreciate the presence of Choice Scarf Kartana much more than other archetypes, as it gives them a quick Defog user and compresses roles while also posing as a very valuable offensive Steel-type that happens to have a plethora of resistances.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Choice Band has grown in popularity due to Knock Off making Kartana able to still spam something that is not a STAB move when facing otherwise counters like Zapdos and Celesteela. Normalium Z with Giga Impact can be used to hit Volcarona, Mega Venusaur, and Zapdos hard, doing a ton of damage, but otherwise it is inferior to the other Z-Crystals, and Normal moves are not particularly helpful on Kartana. In addition, using Defog plus three attacks lets Kartana make the most of Defog while still posing as a threat, and it can use any of the aforementioned Z-Moves or even Muscle Band to improve damage output or Leftovers to improve longevity against entry hazard setters or when switching into entry hazards. Tailwind can be utilized in order to make Kartana faster than anything on the opposing team while doubling the Speed of teammates for a few turns as well. In addition, Z-Tailwind increases Kartana's chances to get a critical hit, making it an intriguing gimmick option on Kartana. Lastly, some Kartana users have flirted with using a Timid nature on it, with 19 Attack IVs, in order to let it get +1 Speed with Beast Boost, but the difference in damage output is drastic, and the lack of Attack boost upon getting a KO makes it much less threatening and makes the Speed boost much harder than take advantage of than one would think, making the strategy simply impractical and not worthwhile a vast majority of the time.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Defensive Steel-types**: Defensive Steel-types such as Mega Scizor and Celesteela are capable of walling most Kartana, but a +2 All-Out Pummeling can still do enough damage to remove them after a couple of Stealth Rock switch-ins, so be wary.
**Faster Special Attackers**: Anything that outruns Kartana and has a special attack essentially ensures a revenge kill due to the horrible special bulk of Kartana.
**Bulky Grass-types**: Bulky Grass-types are able to wall Kartana outside of the aforementioned +2 All-Out Pummeling, which still does a large amount of damage. They often have some means of retaliating or replenishing their health to the point where Kartana is no longer going to be effective in the situation.
**Defensive Zapdos and Volcarona**: With a bit of investment into bulk on Zapdos, it is capable of walling non-niche variants of Kartana while the same can be said for Volcarona naturally due to the typing it has.
**Hidden Power Fire**: With Pokemon unlikely to run Hidden Power Fire such as Ferrothorn and Landorus-T seeing some use with it solely due to Kartana's presence in the tier, it should be kept in mind that any Hidden Power Fire is sure to knock out the specially frail Kartana, and this could limit its ability to set up or stay alive in some matchups.
Kartana is one of the most threatening Pokemon in the USM metagame due to it having insanely high Attack and superb Speed, making Kartana incredibly hard to counter defensively. Unfortunately, low base HP and pitiful Special Defense make Kartana one of the most specially frail Pokemon in the tier. It is able to salvage its decent physical bulk thanks to a high Defense stat, however. Its Grass / Steel typing also assists Kartana defensively, as it resists many different types and only has two weaknesses, Fighting and Fire. Offensively, Kartana's typing is also appreciated, especially alongside the coverage move Sacred Sword. Finally, Beast Boost allows Kartana to boost its Attack every time it gets a KO and makes consistent defensive counterplay incredibly hard to come by.
[SET]
name: Paper Cut (Swords Dance)
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Leaf Blade
move 3: Sacred Sword
move 4: Defog / Smart Strike / Knock Off
item: Fightinium Z / Grassium Z
ability: Beast Boost
nature: Jolly
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Swords Dance is used to double Kartana's Attack, allowing it to threaten the entire metagame. As for the most common attacking moves, Leaf Blade is the primary STAB move, and it is very strong in conjunction with Kartana's high base Attack. Additionally, Sacred Sword is the best complementary coverage move, hitting Steel-types that Leaf Blade fails to threaten sufficiently such as Heatran and Ferrothorn. Defog is often used as a support move despite Kartana's main goal being to pose a threat offensively, as the tier is full of entry hazards and having a strong, fast remover is helpful on many teams. Another attacking option is Smart Strike, which can be used to hit Fairy-types such as Clefable and do more damage to opposing Grass-types such as Mega Venusaur and Tangrowth than either of the alternative attacking options. Knock Off is an option if you deem it to be worthwhile, especially due to the fact that defensive Celesteela and Zapdos variants otherwise can prove to be problematic to Kartana while switch-ins like Choice Scarf Landorus-T can get severely crippled by a well-timed Knock Off. Finally, Substitute can also be used alongside a bulkier EV spread to allow more free setup opportunities.
Set Details
========
The EV spread allows Kartana to maximize damage output and Speed, as it is meant to threaten teams offensively, and it is part of a congested Speed tier, making Jolly the optimal nature as well. As for potential items for Kartana, Fightinium Z is a great choice, often being used to threaten a lot of would-be checks and counters to Kartana with a boosted All-Out Pummeling, damaging opposing Celesteela, Mega Scizor, and Magearna. Grassium Z is an alternative that allows Kartana to have an essential powerful one-time attack in Bloom Doom, removing opposing Landorus-T and Toxapex with minimal prior damage and even breaking through bulky switch-ins such as Zapdos with minimal residual damage at +2. The third potential Z-Move on this set would be Darkinium Z, which is the best to choice if you wish to hit Zapdos and Mega Venusaur while still damaging Celesteela to a decent extent. With this said, it is far less consistent than the two aforementioned alternatives. It is worth noting that Night Slash gives a higher Z-Move Base Power than Knock Off, making it often the best move to use in conjunction with Darkinium Z. Leftovers can be utilized on the Defog + Swords Dance variants if you wish to increase Kartana's longevity and the number of times you can switch it against hazards. Ideally, the set with Leftovers would be used with 28 Special Defense EVs in order to assure that Kartana takes under half from Clefable's Moonblast, letting you switch Kartana in on it twice with or without Stealth Rock being up, assuming it stays in afterwards to gain Leftovers recovery. Finally, if using Substitute, the EV spread should take 8 HP and 60 Special Defense EVs out of Attack so that Kartana can always survive Toxapex's Scald behind a Substitute, letting it take the most advantage of Substitute without compromising much. If you want Kartana to do this and also take Gyro Ball from Ferrothorn when behind a Substitute 100% of the time, you can opt to run a bulkier spread with 120 HP and 8 Special Defense EVs, but keep in mind this involves taking a lot of EVs out of Attack.
Usage Tips
========
Swords Dance Kartana is meant predominantly to poke holes earlier on in games. Cleaning or sweeping entire teams is not usually possible due to the plethora of revenge killers that outrun a Kartana that lacks a Speed boost or Choice Scarf. However, Swords Dance Kartana is one of the best bulky core breakers in the tier, tearing through common stall teams and sweeping them with ease due to their lack of faster Pokemon and hard counters. Also, Defog allows Kartana to essentially function as a full counter to Ferrothorn and also work as a convenient, offensive entry hazard remover that can be slapped on more offensive teams in need.
Team Options
========
Swords Dance Kartana should be used alongside teams that have some form of late-game cleaner or alternative sweeper that is meant to sweep more than break open holes, such as Magearna or Volcarona. In addition, Pursuit support is very much appreciated, as Latios and Latias outrun it while also resisting the moves that it uses most often; their ability to revenge kill Kartana limit it to one KO each time it is on the field until they are eliminated from the game. Pairing Kartana with slow Volt Switch and U-turn users such as Stealth Rock Landorus-T and Assault Vest Magearna is ideal because they let Kartana get in easier against common special attackers and threats that otherwise prevent it from getting in safely. Tapu Bulu provides Kartana with Grassy Terrain that can be beneficial for strengthening an already strong STAB Leaf Blade and gives it a bit of health each turn to make up for the lack of Leftovers recovery. Finally, when using Fightinium Z, it is great to use Swords Dance Kartana alongside a generic physical Choice Scarf user such as Landorus-T, as All-Out Pummeling gets rid of or cripples most physically defensive Pokemon.
[SET]
name: Paper Plane (Choice Scarf)
move 1: Leaf Blade
move 2: Sacred Sword
move 3: Smart Strike / Knock Off
move 4: Defog / Knock Off
item: Choice Scarf
ability: Beast Boost
nature: Jolly
evs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
Moves
========
Leaf Blade is the Grass-type STAB move that hits quite hard for a move on a Choice Scarf user thanks to Kartana's high Attack stat, and Sacred Sword is the best complementary coverage move, hitting opposing Steel-types such as Ferrothorn and Heatran. Another potential move can be Smart Strike, which is a secondary STAB move that can knock out Fairy-types such as Clefable. Knock Off is a great utility move to cripple Pokemon that wall Choice Scarf Kartana such as Celesteela and Zapdos, ridding them of their Leftovers. On the utility front, Defog can be used in the final slot if you want a quick, convenient form of entry hazard removal to slap onto more offensively oriented teams. Finally, Giga Impact is viable to remove Volcarona, as teams with Choice Scarf Kartana often are more offensive, lack another revenge killer, and struggle to defensively check Volcarona to the necessary extent, giving Kartana an emergency button to remove it at the cost of Kartana giving up a free turn after use to recharge.
Set Details
========
The EV spread allows Kartana to have a high damage output and Speed stat, as it is meant to be threatening and quick. Jolly is also used in order to maximize Kartana's Speed, as many Pokemon have similar base Speed stats. Choice Scarf is present to let Kartana clean opposing teams and act as a revenge killer, letting it outrun everything that is unboosted and most setup sweepers at +1. In addition, Defog can let it act as an entry hazard remover for a team that is in need of one, essentially letting you have an emergency button in case of a situation that is getting out of hand due to the presence of entry hazards on the field.
Usage Tips
========
Choice Scarf Kartana is meant to clean teams later on in games with the assistance of its ability, Beast Boost. Beast Boost lets it snowball Attack boosts and run through weakened teams. In addition, Choice Scarf Kartana functions as a revenge killer earlier on in games, outrunning and defeating or forcing out most common offensive threats in the metagame such as Greninja, Tapu Lele, and Keldeo. While locking into Defog is not particularly ideal, as Kartana has to switch out afterwards or become fodder, it is still convenient in some situations and should be used when entry hazards are proving to be problematic to your team during the early- to mid-game. Due to the fact that Swords Dance Kartana is the more common and threatening of the two sets, there are many occasions where you are facing an offensive team that lacks a true Kartana counter and you can take advantage of this via strategic utilization of this Kartana variant. Essentially, the opponent will often try to pivot to their faster, offensive checks that resist a certain move or predict you to use Swords Dance to break through a defensive pivot and Kartana can take advantage of this by hitting them with a strong attack right off the bat, making prediction easier to make, as you know it has to lock into a move.
Team Options
========
Choice Scarf Kartana is primarily used to clean up later on in games, so it should be paired with an early-game breaker that can poke holes and do significant damage to opposing defensive cores, such as Choice Band Tyranitar or Mega Medicham. Also, Spikes support is appreciated by Choice Scarf Kartana, as the residual damage does rack up on opposing teams over time, but it is worth noting that there is some awkward overlap with the fact that Kartana itself could have to use Defog to clear away its own Spikes depending upon the situation. Pursuit support is appreciated by this variant of Kartana as well, as Latios and Latias can get in the way of Kartana trying to sweep with Leaf Blade or Sacred Sword, which are its two most commonly used moves. Tapu Bulu is a great teammate, as Grassy Terrain lets you clean up late-game with Leaf Blade fairly often, and it also provides Kartana with a bit of recovery each turn. Finally, offensive teams often appreciate the presence of Choice Scarf Kartana much more than other archetypes, as it gives them a quick Defog user and compresses roles while also posing as a very valuable offensive Steel-type that happens to have a plethora of resistances.
[STRATEGY COMMENTS]
Other Options
=============
Choice Band has grown in popularity due to Knock Off making Kartana able to still spam something that is not a STAB move when facing otherwise counters like Zapdos and Celesteela. Normalium Z with Giga Impact can be used to hit Volcarona, Mega Venusaur, and Zapdos hard, doing a ton of damage, but otherwise it is inferior to the other Z-Crystals, and Normal moves are not particularly helpful on Kartana. In addition, using Defog plus three attacks lets Kartana make the most of Defog while still posing as a threat, and it can use any of the aforementioned Z-Moves or even Muscle Band to improve damage output or Leftovers to improve longevity against entry hazard setters or when switching into entry hazards. Tailwind can be utilized in order to make Kartana faster than anything on the opposing team while doubling the Speed of teammates for a few turns as well. In addition, Z-Tailwind increases Kartana's chances to get a critical hit, making it an intriguing gimmick option on Kartana. Lastly, some Kartana users have flirted with using a Timid nature on it, with 19 Attack IVs, in order to let it get +1 Speed with Beast Boost, but the difference in damage output is drastic, and the lack of Attack boost upon getting a KO makes it much less threatening and makes the Speed boost much harder than take advantage of than one would think, making the strategy simply impractical and not worthwhile a vast majority of the time.
Checks and Counters
===================
**Defensive Steel-types**: Defensive Steel-types such as Mega Scizor and Celesteela are capable of walling most Kartana, but a +2 All-Out Pummeling can still do enough damage to remove them after a couple of Stealth Rock switch-ins, so be wary.
**Faster Special Attackers**: Anything that outruns Kartana and has a special attack essentially ensures a revenge kill due to the horrible special bulk of Kartana.
**Bulky Grass-types**: Bulky Grass-types are able to wall Kartana outside of the aforementioned +2 All-Out Pummeling, which still does a large amount of damage. They often have some means of retaliating or replenishing their health to the point where Kartana is no longer going to be effective in the situation.
**Defensive Zapdos and Volcarona**: With a bit of investment into bulk on Zapdos, it is capable of walling non-niche variants of Kartana while the same can be said for Volcarona naturally due to the typing it has.
**Hidden Power Fire**: With Pokemon unlikely to run Hidden Power Fire such as Ferrothorn and Landorus-T seeing some use with it solely due to Kartana's presence in the tier, it should be kept in mind that any Hidden Power Fire is sure to knock out the specially frail Kartana, and this could limit its ability to set up or stay alive in some matchups.
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