Malaconda (Analysis) (QC 3/3)

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I found it kind of odd that Malaconda doesn't have any analysis yet and we're going onto CAP6 so I figured writing it up is a good idea. I have written analyses before in other tiers so have no fear, I am somewhat qualified!

I'm going to write everything out in standard Smogon formatting then change it to CAP formatting after the QC checks since it's infinity times easier to read Smogon formatting.


<h2>Overview</h2>

<p>As the only OU-viable Pokemon with Harvest, Malaconda was destined to be used in tandem with Drought. Malaconda's high Special Defense and access to Rapid Spin make it an excellent addition to sun teams regardless; its typing and bulk ensure that it can handle troublesome threats to these teams, such as Latios and Latias, and allow it to use Rapid Spin while getting past spinblockers easily. It also makes a great pivot against most Pokemon found on offensive rain teams thanks to the presence of moves such as U-turn and Glare in its arsenal. However, make no mistake, Malaconda is not limited to being used on sun teams. It can make a valuable addition to rain teams that require a spinner, as Malaconda greatly appreciates the of weakening Fire-type moves in rain, while its typing allows it to take powerful Electric-type attacks aimed at its teammates.</p>

<p>Unfortunately for Malaconda, its typing and average offensive stats cause it to become easy prey for dangerous foes. Its two biggest counters, Scizor and Heatran, get a good amount of usage, and Malaconda has no means of retaliation against them. Its subpar Defense stat is also a cause for concern, as it greatly reduces Malaconda's tanking ability. All in all, Malaconda is an excellent utility Pokemon which can be the final piece in the puzzle for your team, but it is not a Pokemon you should build your team around.</p>

<script type="text/javascript">
var set = new CAPSet();
set.name = "Pivot";
set.move[1] = "Rapid Spin";
set.move[2] = ["Crunch", "Glare", "Pursuit"];
set.move[3] = ["Power Whip", "Glare"];
set.move[4] = "U-turn";
set.item = "Sitrus Berry";
set.ability = "Harvest";
set.nature = "Careful";
set.evs.HP = 252;
set.evs.Atk = 24;
set.evs.SpD = 232;
document.write(composeSet(set));
</script>

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>While Malaconda lacks a reliable recovery move, the combination of Harvest and Sitrus Berry is the next best thing for this purpose. This passive recovery, along with Malaconda's bulk, makes it extremely hard to take down under sunlight. Rapid Spin allows Malaconda to better support the team by ridding its side of the field of entry hazards. Offensively, Crunch is the STAB move of choice as it ensures that no Ghost-type (aside from the rare Sableye) has a safe time switching in and blocking Rapid Spin, while Power Whip is fairly powerful and is a useful asset against bulkier Pokemon, such as Tyranitar and Hippowdon. U-turn plays to Malaconda's strengths, as with the move it can be used as a pivot for the purpose of bringing in other team members safely; first, Malaconda can use its bulk to switch in, and then it can U-turn on the ensuing switch, maintaining momentum for your team.</p>

<p>In terms of other move options, Glare is an acceptable choice, as it ensures that Malaconda cannot be used as setup bait, and can replace either of Malaconda's STAB attacks, depending on which one is least valuable. However, do be warned that setup sweepers that use Substitute, such as Substitute + Dragon Dance Dragonite, can use this to their advantage. As an alternate choice, Pursuit allows Malaconda to trap various Pokemon, most notably Latios and Latias.</p>

<p>The EV spread provided allows Malaconda to 2HKO Latias with Crunch, while the EVs in Special Defense mean that a Choice Specs Latios Draco Meteor will do just over 50% damage, guaranteeing that its Sitrus Berry will activate. Malaconda is best suited for sun teams, as the constant sun ensures that Harvest will work 100% of the time, and Malaconda can repay the favor by spinning away the hazards that are deadly to sun teams. In addition, it makes a great switch-in to Politoed, as it can take all of its attacks with ease, although a stray Toxic or Scald burn will be fatal. Malaconda can also be used on rain teams, as it greatly appreciates the reduction in the power of Fire-type attacks, but doing so reduces the chance of Harvest working to 50%.</p>

<p>In terms of teammates, Skarmory is an excellent choice as it can act as a physical wall courtesy of its high Defense, while also being able to provide residual damage in the form of Spikes. In turn, Malaconda can take special attacks aimed at Skarmory with relative ease. Jellicent also makes for a good partner, as it has the upper hand against Choice Band Scizor and Heatran lacking Toxic, while also being immune to Fighting-type attacks.</p>

<script type="text/javascript">
var set = new CAPSet();
set.name = "Choice Band";
set.move[1] = "Pursuit";
set.move[2] = "U-turn";
set.move[3] = "Sucker Punch";
set.move[4] = "Power Whip";
set.item = "Choice Band";
set.ability = "Infiltrator";
set.nature = "Adamant";
set.evs.HP = 252;
set.evs.Atk = 252;
set.evs.SpD = 4;
document.write(composeSet(set));
</script>

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>Due to most of Malaconda's sets not relying on Leftovers for recovery, Choice Band makes for a decent surprise, as the opponent will likely not realize the nature of the set when Malaconda takes damage. This set uses Malaconda's bulk to its advantage in an offensive manner. When paired with a Choice Band, Malaconda becomes a respectable offensive presence; it is especially useful on teams that require the elimination of strong special attackers such as Latios, Latias, and Gengar. The combination of Pursuit and Sucker Punch puts the foe in a checkmate situation, and Sucker Punch is an efficient weapon which can revenge kill weakened foes regardless. However, because Sucker Punch is a rather foe-dependent move, Power Whip is especially useful due to its strong, consistent damage output. U-turn makes Malaconda a solid pivot which can gain momentum for its team.</p>

<p>In terms of ability, Infiltrator should always be used over Harvest, as if you have a Choice Band attached, you aren't going to be benefiting from a Berry anytime soon, and as pitiful such an ability as Infiltrator may be, it still has some (albeit limited) usage. For alternative moves, Malaconda can use Wild Charge in order to not be walled to no end by Skarmory, though it requires Stealth Rock support in order to 2HKO taking Leftovers recovery into account. Although this set is more offensive than the typical Malaconda set, it is recommended not to use this on a hyper offense team, but instead on a more bulky offensive team build.</p>

<p>An added benefit to using Malaconda as your bulky Pursuit trapper over the likes of Tyranitar is that it does not bring sand into play every time it enters. This means that it can be used on teams that dislike having sand around, but still struggle with Latios and Latias, such as sun teams, and would prefer a teammate that does not disrupt the team's synergy. Other than that, Malaconda still draws Fighting-types, Scizor, and Heatran like no other, so having an answer to those Pokemon is especially important. Jellicent can handle all of those Pokemon in most scenarios, making it a good partner.</p>

<script type="text/javascript">
var set = new CAPSet();
set.name = "LumRest";
set.move[1] = "Rest";
set.move[2] = "Rapid Spin";
set.move[3] = ["Power Whip", "Crunch"];
set.move[4] = "U-turn";
set.item = "Lum Berry";
set.ability = "Harvest";
set.nature = "Careful";
set.evs.HP = 252;
set.evs.Atk = 24;
set.evs.SpD = 232;
document.write(composeSet(set));
</script>

[SET COMMENTS]

<p>Lum Berry Malaconda is very similar to Sitrus Berry Malaconda in the role that it plays, but has a different means of healing. By passing up a moveslot for Rest, Lum Berry Malaconda gains the ability to restore its health fully and clear any status it obtained along the course of the battle, and then to consistently offset the negative side-effect of Rest through the combination of Lum Berry and Harvest. This set does a spectacular job in serving as a defense against rain teams, and has the additional perk of fearing absolutely nothing from Politoed. No longer will you have to risk switching Malaconda into Politoed for fear of a burn, as its Lum Berry will cure any harmful status. However, the inclusion of Rest leaves only one slot available for an attacking move, so the choice between Power Whip and Crunch depends on what you want Malaconda to beat. Power Whip has generally better coverage and a higher Base Power, but Crunch allows Malaconda to beat Gengar, one of the most prevalent spinblockers, with ease.</p>

<p>For the most part, you should probably stick to the moves recommended on this set. With Rest being necessary, Malaconda doesn't have enough moveslots left to use niche moves. Recommended teammates are those that appreciate a lack of hazards, such as Volcarona and Dragonite. Once again, Jellicent makes a good partner for Malaconda due to its resistances and immunities to types that hit Malaconda super effectively.</p>

<h2>Other Options</h2>

<p>With Harvest as an ability, it is only natural to be curious as to the potential of other Berries, but other than Sitrus and Lum, none of them are really any good. That being said, you could use Starf Berry if you are feeling particularly lucky. Foul Play is a nice STAB move that Malaconda can use to take advantage of an opponent's Attack stat. Taunt can be used in order to prevent opponents from setting up against Malaconda, and is especially effective since slow Spikers such as Skarmory and Forretress often see Malaconda as an easy opportunity to execute their strategy. Heal Bell is useful for its ability to allow Malaconda to act as a cleric, and Haze gets a notable mention for eliminating all boosted stats. With Malaconda's bulk, it can also run a SubSeed set to varying degrees of success.</p>

<h2>Checks and Counters</h2>

<p>Given that it has no way to harm Steel-types in any manner, it is safe to say that most of them are counters to Malaconda. This means that Pokemon such as Heatran, Scizor, Lucario, Jirachi, and Skarmory all pose a huge threat to Malaconda. Fighting-types are also a huge thorn in its side because of their ability to hit it not only super effectively, but also often on its lower Defense stat. Conkeldurr, Toxicroak, and Keldeo all are good examples, although Keldeo must be wary of a stray Power Whip coming its way as it attempts to switch in.</p>

<p>Bulky Pokemon that use Substitute in conjunction with a boosting move are good answers to Malaconda because of its relatively weak attacking ability. Substitute + Dragon Dance Dragonite is an example of such a Pokemon. If Malaconda does not use Glare, then the list of Pokemon being able to set up on it expands greatly. Pokemon such as Dragon Dance Salamence and Swords Dance Garchomp all of a sudden have a free opportunity to set up whenever Malaconda is in play. Cloyster can OHKO with Icicle Spear Malaconda and threaten it with Shell Smash should Malaconda switch out, but it can be greatly damaged by a Power Whip. Landorus-T also deserves an honorable mention as a counter to Malaconda due to its great bulk, Intimidate, and access to U-turn.</p>
 
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Err, in the future we'll have a slightly better way of dealing with who gets to be the analysis writer, but you fit the three criteria I have so I'm fine with you doing this analysis. The process is pretty much the same as normal C&C, except for each CAP I decide who the "QC" are.

For the Malaconda playtest there were a ton of users that used alts so I don't actually know who is who, but if I would say anyone on the top 20ish of this list would be able to give QC checks:


Additionally, @jas61292, @srk1214, and @nyttyn participated a lot, so I know they'd also be fine QC members (maybe they have alts on the top 20 but I have no way of knowing...)

EDIT: also, leaving the format like this for now is totally fine!!
 

Nyktos

Custom Loser Title
U-turn should be a first slash if not mandatory, imo. Malaconda's ability to switch into Politoed and then U-turn (ideally to Ninetales) was its best quality in my experience. I also find it weird that Dark STAB is made mandatory while Grass STAB is not. There were a lot more Water-types running around in the playtest meta than there were Lati@s. When I ran one STAB, I much preferred Power Whip.

I think LumRest is better than you're giving it credit for. I much preferred it to Sitrus and I never really had trouble finding chances to use Rest. I guess I can't offer a great argument in favour of it beyond that, though.

For what it's worth, this is the set I had the most success with:
Malaconda @ Lum Berry
Harvest
252 HP / 16 Atk / 240 SpD
Careful
- Power Whip
- U-turn
- Rapid Spin
- Rest

(I'm #13 on that list btw. I can prove it if necessary, but note that the alt's name is an anagram of my forum name. :eek:)

Edit: Oh, and while PP stall was a terrible gimmick, it was funny enough that I would be sad to not see it mentioned in OO.
 
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Bughouse

Like ships in the night, you're passing me by
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None of the alts are mine because I don't like to use alts. Just my preference. You'll see I placed 27th, but had a very low deviation. I played a crapload of games. If I broke out one of my more successful teams to an alt, I'm sure I'd have placed higher.

I would agree that LumRest merits actually having a set, not just OO. I did find it inferior to Sitrus sets when I faced both and when I used both. I still think LumRest merits inclusion though, particularly since unprepared teams just have ZERO way to kill it.

Unfortunately, I didn't actually use Malaconda successfully all that often in the playtest, nor did I ever use the Choice Band set. I'm not sure I'm the right person to add a QC to this, but if I'm wanted, I'll come back later with more detail.
 

alexwolf

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Agreeing that U-turn is a must on any defensive set, otherwise Malaconda becomes a huge momentum killer. The only other move that could be used over it is Roar i guess, which prevents you from being setup bait for a ton of Pokemon.

Also the LumRest set should definitely have a main set and the one that Nyktos posted is easily the best. Just slash Crunch and Payback after Power Whip and you are set.
 
U-turn should be a first slash if not mandatory, imo. Malaconda's ability to switch into Politoed and then U-turn (ideally to Ninetales) was its best quality in my experience. I also find it weird that Dark STAB is made mandatory while Grass STAB is not. There were a lot more Water-types running around in the playtest meta than there were Lati@s. When I ran one STAB, I much preferred Power Whip.

I think LumRest is better than you're giving it credit for. I much preferred it to Sitrus and I never really had trouble finding chances to use Rest. I guess I can't offer a great argument in favour of it beyond that, though.

For what it's worth, this is the set I had the most success with:
Malaconda @ Lum Berry
Harvest
252 HP / 16 Atk / 240 SpD
Careful
- Power Whip
- U-turn
- Rapid Spin
- Rest

(I'm #13 on that list btw. I can prove it if necessary, but note that the alt's name is an anagram of my forum name. :eek:)

Edit: Oh, and while PP stall was a terrible gimmick, it was funny enough that I would be sad to not see it mentioned in OO.
I have no problem with making U-turn the primary slash over Glare, so if there is more agreement to it I will change it. I will get to the whole Dark STAB thing later in the post.

The problem I have with LumRest (I don't understand why you guys want LumRest > ChestoRest...provided there's no sun - a reasonable situation - the random status that gets healed by Lum could doom you if you don't get that 50% and used Rest the same turn) is that it really doesn't offer anything great. Sitrus + Harvest is actually very reliable and the best part about it is the fact that you don't have to spend a turn healing. What this also means is that suddenly attacks that do like 60%+ aren't a concern anymore since you can attack directly, get the Sitrus boost, and live next turn. With Lum Berry you are getting dealt 60%+ damage, and unless you use Rest, you are getting killed the next turn. If you do use Rest, you literally aren't getting anywhere. If your primary concern with the Sitrus set is that you can get statused and whatnot, why don't you just run Heal Bell on the first set instead which is a much better move since it supports the rest of your team. I just don't see why anyone would use LumRest when Sitrus + Harvest is pretty much better on all accounts.

The last concern I have with the LumRest set is the fact that despite your belief that Lati@s weren't used that much last test, going off the 1850 stats, they accounted for 20% of teams. Add in Gengar, a Pokemon you need the Dark STAB even more for, and those 3 Pokemon account for 25% of teams. That's quite a bit of teams in my opinion. Not only that, but since Malaconda works best on Sun teams and Rain teams lacking Ferrothorn (both styles of play Lati@s are efficient against), not having a Dark STAB to actually do anything with would be a concern. U-turn just doesn't do a good enough job of dealing with them, in my opinion.

I did not use PP stall and as such have no idea what such set would look like.

None of the alts are mine because I don't like to use alts. Just my preference. You'll see I placed 27th, but had a very low deviation. I played a crapload of games. If I broke out one of my more successful teams to an alt, I'm sure I'd have placed higher.

I would agree that LumRest merits actually having a set, not just OO. I did find it inferior to Sitrus sets when I faced both and when I used both. I still think LumRest merits inclusion though, particularly since unprepared teams just have ZERO way to kill it.

Unfortunately, I didn't actually use Malaconda successfully all that often in the playtest, nor did I ever use the Choice Band set. I'm not sure I'm the right person to add a QC to this, but if I'm wanted, I'll come back later with more detail.
I mean if it's inferior to Sitrus sets then I don't see why it needs a set. I don't think that 6-0ing teams that were unprepared for Malaconda (pretty hard to do, especially in a test where Malaconda was like 40%+ usage) exactly proves that a set is analysis worthy.

I appreciate your comments and would be open to more of them.

Agreeing that U-turn is a must on any defensive set, otherwise Malaconda becomes a huge momentum killer. The only other move that could be used over it is Roar i guess, which prevents you from being setup bait for a ton of Pokemon.

Also the LumRest set should definitely have a main set and the one that Nyktos posted is easily the best. Just slash Crunch and Payback after Power Whip and you are set.
Glare is pretty useful too and I am somewhat surprised that you see Roar as the only other option to U-turn. Not in the shocked surprised kind of way, more in the dumbfounded surprised kind of way.

My concerns over not having a Dark STAB have already been written.
 
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Nyktos

Custom Loser Title
The problem I have with LumRest (I don't understand why you guys want LumRest > ChestoRest...provided there's no sun - a reasonable situation - the random status that gets healed by Lum could doom you if you don't get that 50% and used Rest the same turn) is that it really doesn't offer anything great. Sitrus + Harvest is actually very reliable and the best part about it is the fact that you don't have to spend a turn healing. What this also means is that suddenly attacks that do like 60%+ aren't a concern anymore since you can attack directly, get the Sitrus boost, and live next turn. With Lum Berry you are getting dealt 60%+ damage, and unless you use Rest, you are getting killed the next turn. If you do use Rest, you literally aren't getting anywhere. If your primary concern with the Sitrus set is that you can get statused and whatnot, why don't you just run Heal Bell on the first set instead which is a much better move since it supports the rest of your team. I just don't see why anyone would use LumRest when Sitrus + Harvest is pretty much better on all accounts.
Lum is better than Chesto because if you get Scald burned (probably leaving you at like 95%), you don't have to Rest to be able to do damage again. The advantage of Lum over Sitrus is that you can switch in with impunity on the likes of Rotom-W, Jellicent, and Tentacruel without getting crippled by burn or Toxic. All that said, I don't think there absolutely needs to be a LumRest set; I liked it myself but I'm well aware that most people preferred Sitrus. Like I said before, I don't have an incredibly strong defence for it beyond vaguely saying that it worked better for me. I meant my post more along the lines of "what do people think of this?" than "this absolutely must be in the analysis".

Also, I agree that Glare should definitely be slashed on any and all non-CB sets. I would much rather run it alongside U-turn than instead of it, though.
 

alexwolf

lurks in the shadows
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Agreeing with Nyktos that U-turn works absolutely fine with Glare. Here is how i think the Sitrus set should look like:

move 1: Rapid Spin
move 2: Power Whip
move 3: U-turn / Roar
move 4: Glare / Crunch / Heal Bell

Power Whip is a must in order to deal with the Water-types you wall and while a Dark-type STAB is good to have, it's not as necessary as U-turn deals just fine with Lati@s anyway (or even Roar, which i like very much to deal with SubCM Latias). The only things you really miss on is Gengar which is also taken care of by Roar. Maybe, just maybe, you could slash a Dark-type STAB after Power Whip but i am not sure. In the third slot we have the move of choice to prevent momentum loss and avoid being setup bait. U-turn is obviously the best move when it comes to momentum controlling but Roar has the benefit of dealing with many special setup sweepers that use Substitute such as SubCM Jirachi and SubCM Latias. Finally, Glare provides team support and makes Malconda much harder to switch into, dual STAB is a very possible choice as well if you need it, and Heal Bell helps Malaconda better handle Water-types while supporting the whole team.

The LumRest set should be a main set because as Nyktos said it doesn't care about status, a huge selling point when dealing with Water-type armed with Scald, WoW, and Toxic.

Payback and Pursuit may be able to fit on the Sitrus set but i am not sure where.
 
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Bughouse

Like ships in the night, you're passing me by
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Yeah, just gonna echo Nyktos' points. Lum > Chesto so that burns and toxics etc don't force Rest to occur. Even when outside of the sun, generally Malaconda can get a 50% Harvest recycling or just get it later when the Sun is back up. I don't think I ever faced a situation for me or my opponent where Lum was so significantly inferior to Chesto that it outweighed the free turns Lum grants over Chesto ordinarily.

I also think Glare should automatically go with U-turn. There is no sense in using Glare without U-turn since it is generally aimed at being used at something like Heatran or Landorus-T on the switch-in or something, then you can U-turn out to whatever best deals with that threat. Glare is intended to cripple counters and checks to Malaconda, so they likely don't mind Grass or Dark STAB much anyway. U-turning to your own counter is the best play alongside Glare.

Therefore I think the best solution for moves is the following:
Rapid Spin
Dark STAB/Glare
Grass STAB/Glare
U-turn

Yup. I leave U-turn without a slash. I really think it was THAT important of a move for Malaconda. Scizor and Skarmory and more were everywhere and it was so important to not give free turns to your opponent. I do think that Glare is better when paired with Grass STAB and U-turn than with Dark STAB and U-turn, so personally I'd leave off Dark coverage, but it depends enough on what else your team has that I'd slash Glare on both. The reason that I'm not leaving Glare alone and slashing Dark and Grass together is that I do think running a Glare-less set with both STABs is totally viable.

Other moves are certainly viable but I think this the best way to deal with a set without having too many slashes all over. Comments and OO are plenty good to house Heal Bell and Roar/Dragon Tail, for example. That is, unless someone would like to provide a specialized set for Heal Bell or phazing?
 
I wouldn't blame you for leaving this out just on principle, but Malaconda was an almost ideal user of the annoying Swagger/Glare/Foul Play/Substitute moveset. Basically with infinite substitute and epic special bulk he had all the tools a user of that set could ask for.
 

Nyktos

Custom Loser Title
Rapid Spin
Dark STAB/Glare
Grass STAB/Glare
U-turn
I agree with this configuration.

One thing I forgot to bring up before is the EV spread. The comments suggest the 72 Attack EVs are for Latias, but 24 is enough to guarantee the 2HKO on 252 / 0 sets. Not saying 72 is necessarily wrong, but I'd like to know where that number comes from. (@Deck Knight?) The 8 Speed EVs are pure speed creep as far as I can tell; that should probably be 4 to beat minimum-speed Blissey, or none.

On the topic of Speed EVs, does anyone think it would be worth running some on the Choice Band set? 52 beats min-speed Tyranitar for instance. This is assuming the CB set stays, of course.
 
On the topic of Speed EVs, does anyone think it would be worth running some on the Choice Band set? 52 beats min-speed Tyranitar for instance. This is assuming the CB set stays, of course.
I ran 8 speed EVs on the CB set during the playtest, though that was only to outspeed opposing Malaconda which had the same idea with a U-Turn. As a whole, I honestly don't think that investing in Speed EVs is useful, and is largely a waste of EVs, What PttP has now (252HP/252Atk/4SpD) is probably best.
 

Nyktos

Custom Loser Title
I ran 8 speed EVs on the CB set during the playtest, though that was only to outspeed opposing Malaconda which had the same idea with a U-Turn.
There's a good chance that's what Deck was doing, too. It's not a bad idea, but Smogon policy is to avoid speed creep in analyses.
 
@ Nyktos and Srk - I'm not so sure why U-turn would be necessary alongside Glare, as U-turning out vs. your paralyzed counter only provides marginal benefit over just switching. If I recall correctly, the prevailing wisdom in the playtest thread was to use one or the other, because they are both moves that you want to use on the turn your counter switches in. Either you cripple your counter with paralysis or you scout the switch and stay a turn ahead of your opponent. Maybe using both is viable so you have both options available to you, but it's not like the moves are complementing each other so well that they need to be used together.
 

Bughouse

Like ships in the night, you're passing me by
is a Site Content Manageris a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a CAP Contributor Alumnusis a Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnus
It's more that I think U-turn is necessary and Glare is optional. My opinion is that Spin, Dual STAB, U-turn is infinitely more viable than Spin, Dual STAB, Glare. I don't think that Glare should replace U-turn, so if Glare isn't replacing it, the only other option is for Glare to accompany U-turn. (If you choose to forego one of your STABs.)
 
Yeah, just gonna echo Nyktos' points. Lum > Chesto so that burns and toxics etc don't force Rest to occur. Even when outside of the sun, generally Malaconda can get a 50% Harvest recycling or just get it later when the Sun is back up. I don't think I ever faced a situation for me or my opponent where Lum was so significantly inferior to Chesto that it outweighed the free turns Lum grants over Chesto ordinarily.

I also think Glare should automatically go with U-turn. There is no sense in using Glare without U-turn since it is generally aimed at being used at something like Heatran or Landorus-T on the switch-in or something, then you can U-turn out to whatever best deals with that threat. Glare is intended to cripple counters and checks to Malaconda, so they likely don't mind Grass or Dark STAB much anyway. U-turning to your own counter is the best play alongside Glare.

Therefore I think the best solution for moves is the following:
Rapid Spin
Dark STAB/Glare
Grass STAB/Glare
U-turn

Yup. I leave U-turn without a slash. I really think it was THAT important of a move for Malaconda. Scizor and Skarmory and more were everywhere and it was so important to not give free turns to your opponent. I do think that Glare is better when paired with Grass STAB and U-turn than with Dark STAB and U-turn, so personally I'd leave off Dark coverage, but it depends enough on what else your team has that I'd slash Glare on both. The reason that I'm not leaving Glare alone and slashing Dark and Grass together is that I do think running a Glare-less set with both STABs is totally viable.

Other moves are certainly viable but I think this the best way to deal with a set without having too many slashes all over. Comments and OO are plenty good to house Heal Bell and Roar/Dragon Tail, for example. That is, unless someone would like to provide a specialized set for Heal Bell or phazing?
I like this moveset and will adjust the OP accordingly.

The LumRest set should be a main set because as Nyktos said it doesn't care about status, a huge selling point when dealing with Water-type armed with Scald, WoW, and Toxic.
Sorry but if you're main reasoning is "status", why don't you just run Heal Bell like I said before on the first set and do a better job supporting your team?

I agree with this configuration.

One thing I forgot to bring up before is the EV spread. The comments suggest the 72 Attack EVs are for Latias, but 24 is enough to guarantee the 2HKO on 252 / 0 sets. Not saying 72 is necessarily wrong, but I'd like to know where that number comes from. (@Deck Knight?) The 8 Speed EVs are pure speed creep as far as I can tell; that should probably be 4 to beat minimum-speed Blissey, or none.

On the topic of Speed EVs, does anyone think it would be worth running some on the Choice Band set? 52 beats min-speed Tyranitar for instance. This is assuming the CB set stays, of course.
You are right about the speed creep and I shall adjust the EV spread accordingly.

I wouldn't blame you for leaving this out just on principle, but Malaconda was an almost ideal user of the annoying Swagger/Glare/Foul Play/Substitute moveset. Basically with infinite substitute and epic special bulk he had all the tools a user of that set could ask for.
I shall give a mention to it in OO.
 

alexwolf

lurks in the shadows
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^For the same reason you prefer Sitrus over Rest, the first is passive while the latter needs a turn to be spent. RestLum gives passive status protection allowing it to switch into status and even Scald from water-type much easier and then regain momentum without needing to spend a turn to heal itself, unlike the Sitrus set.
 
And yet is that passive status immunity really more important than the team support that Heal Bell provides?

Both movesets are wasting a move on either Heal Bell/Rest, so it really only comes down to the question above.
 
I tried this set out today with his only team member being a Ninetails with Drought, and I won a couple of battles thanks to the boosts off of a replenishing Starf Berry

[SET]
name: Bulky Boosting Boa
move 1: Substitute
move 2: Crunch
move 3: Power Whip
move 4: Synthesis
item: Starf Berry
ability: Harvest
nature: Impish
evs: 252 HP / 4 Atk / 252 Def

[SET COMMENTS]
  • Hard to kill due to bulk
  • Starf Berry + Harvest in Sun means that all your stats are getting boosted while you sit behind tough substitutes
  • Gimmiky? Maybe
  • Hilarious when used to sweep a team? Yes
  • First time posting anything on this site, hope I did ok
Has anyone else tried this? If not, could you and let me know how it goes? Thanks
 

Bughouse

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^yes. OO Starf Berry. Just like Swagger Foul Play, it's gimmicky but somewhat effective on Malaconda.
 
Starf Berry Malaconda is extremely gimmicky and takes a lot of luck and time to use -- it should not warrant a recommended set at all. Sure, it's funny when you sweep with a Starf Malaconda, but that doesn't mean it's a good set. As for your set, Glare is very useful to get early speed on the opponent when starting to set up, so I usually have Glare instead of Power Whip. If it's going to be mentioned in OO, it should at least be pointed out that it is very gimmicky and isn't advised.
 

DetroitLolcat

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If I could suggest anything I'd just want to point out that U-Turn needs to be explicitly mentioned as one of the best ways to deal with/counter Malaconda. With average Physical Bulk most U-Turns are going to take Malaconda out. 96+ (the standard set at the time) Landorus-Therian OHKOs with U-Turn, Celebi does upwards of 60%, and obviously Scizor but you mentioned that pretty much.

I can't think of any glaring (hehe) issues with this analysis, but I also didn't use Malaconda too much in the playtest. Good work!
 

Bughouse

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Take out "Harvest Chesto + Rest but that set sucks" from the OO, since it's obviously now a set.

With that, QC 1/3
 

jas61292

used substitute
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Those three sets looks fine to me.
Also, srk, Chesto is slightly different from Lum, but completely inferior due to Harvest. Could still go in OO, but not really necessary.

Anyways:

QC approved 2/3

(Always wanted to do that)
 
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