SM OU mind = blown - Sticky Webs ft. Naganadel & Blacephalon (32-5)

temp

legacy
is a Battle Simulator Staff Alumnus


mind = blown
Introduction
Yay, Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon is out! And with every new meta, there's always someone to abuse HO at the start. This team focuses around the 2 new mons, Naganadel and Blacephalon, and Ribombee's new tool of Sticky Web. I can't wait for the USM meta to further develop for OU, and I do expect a Naganadel suspect test given the current outrage in the community. Do I want it banned? No. Do I expect it to be banned? No. I feel it's just like when Tapu Lele, Xurkitree, etc. were introduced. Pretty stats = ban it!! People have to wait for the meta to change and need to adapt with their movesets and team choices. Adaption is something people in this community can't accept, as they feel adapting a Pokemon's moveset to handle a top threat lowers its overall viability. Blacephalon is fine, too. I see OU or BL in its future, similarly to Xurkitree and Kartana. Ribombee, imo, has fair competition with Shuckle as a webber. Both outclass Smeargle given that Shuckle has an actual defensive backbone with Ribombee having an offensive presence. Anyways, enjoy this RMT!
Teambuilding Process


Naganadel is the current outrage, so I want to cash in before a potential suspect test. This thing's cleaning abilities are amazing.

To assist Naga in sweeping lategame, I want to accompany it with a solid wallbreaker in Blacephalon. It also fits a theme of the 2 new UBs (Stakataka is wack). Blace is a great spinblocker as well, forcing out most Rapid Spin users afterward. Both struggle against Tyranitar, though.

Ribombee acts as a Sticky Web user with an offensive presence. It can even cripple Ground types such as Excadrill or Garchomp with a Stun Spore. It doesn't break past much in the meta, but it does about 40% to a lot of Pokemon, which is particularly helpful for Naganadel.

Mega Pinsir is another wallbreaker alongside Blacephalon. It can do massive damage to Tyranitar for it, and can weaken Magearna for Naganadel. It abuses the Sticky Webs excellently, outspeeding threats such as Tapu Koko or Ash Greninja.

Excadrill sets up Stealth Rock and can Rapid Spin them away. It can Toxic Mega Sableye for Naganadel and Blacephalon especially and targets Tyranitar, Heatran, Rotom-Wash, etc. Its Electric immunity lets it be a solid pivot to Tapu Koko at times, too.

Magearna caps the team off—giving the team two steel types for fairies and providing an additional win condition. Thanks to Blacephalon and Mega Pinsir, Magearna has an easy time picking mons off to snowball.


In-depth



Naganadel @
/

Beast Boost
252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe | Timid | 0 Atk
Draco Meteor
| Fire Blast
| Nasty Plot
| Sludge Wave



Moves

Firstly, Draco Meteor is an amazing STAB option. It's not the best for sweeping, but it works well in conjunction with Nasty Plot. A Draco Plate increases the power to 156, allowing you to nuke Mew and Toxapex at +2, Landorus, etc. This is your primary killing tool. Fire Blast targets the many Steel-types that would otherwise wall Naganadel; Ferrothorn, Celesteela, Scizor, Skarmory. It doesn't hit Heatran, but a +2 Draco hits hard enough. Nasty Plot will mostly be used when Naga forces a switch, which is does quite often. Given its amazing and near-perfect coverage (excluding Heatran), Naganadel makes many 50/50s in the battle. You can opt for an aggressive play and Nasty Plot, and after you get your KO, you start to get Speed boosts instead of Special Attack. This is what allows Naganadel to act as such a potent sweeper. Sludge Wave gets a STAB boost as well and primarily targets Fairies such as Tapu Fini or Unaware Clefable that would otherwise wall you. With a Life Orb or even a Toxic Plate, Sludge Wave 100% OHKOs Unaware Clefable.

Misc. [item(s), EVs, IVs, ability, nature]

A Draco Plate is the preferred item of choice on this team given that Blacephalon has occupied the Z-move. Otherwise, a Dragonium Z would be used to OHKO no investment Heatrans at +2 50% of the time. Life Orb is suitable as well, giving an all around boost to every move; meeting the aforementioned benchmark of a Sludge Wave OHKO on Unaware Clef. Toxic Plate has merit, too, but Naganadel is going to be abusing its main kill move in Draco Meteor. The EVs, IVs, and nature are straightforward. Beast Boost, with max Speed investment, gives a Speed boost. For a Special Attack boost, you can opt for 168 Spe instead (still outspeeding Base 111s and below), but it's quite unnecessary on this Nasty Plot set.



Blacephalon @

Beast Boost
252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe | Timid | 0 Atk
Substitute
| Mind Blown
| Fire Blast
| Shadow Ball



Moves

Substitute allows Blacephalon to punish switches. It lets Blace remain safe vs. Tyranitar, making it so that the sub gets Pursuit trapped instead. Mind Blown shouldn't be used unless Fire Blast won't KO. When you're using Firium Z, always click Mind Blown for a 200 BP STAB move. Fire Blast is a far more spammable move than Mind Blown, given that Mind Blown does 50% to you every time. Shadow Ball is for Toxapex, Diancie, etc., as it does massive damage at +1 to resists too. Psychic is an option over Mind Blown with Psychium Z for Toxapex specifically, but Pinsir and Excadrill will mitigate its abilities in the battle.

Misc.

Firium Z allows Blacephalon to do over 50% to almost everything that isn't fully SpDef invested. You can try Leftovers or Expert Belt to free up a Z-move slot for Nagandel. As said above, Psychium Z can be used in conjunction with Psychic specifically for Toxapex. Use Blace as a spinblocker as often as possible and Substitute on Sucker Punch users such as Mawile or Bisharp in hopes of winning the 50/50. Blacephalon has pitiful bulk, too, so don't expect it to switch into much. Its subpar speed tier of 344 leaves it slower than Keldeo and above, so be wary of Scarf Kartana, Terrakion, Keldeo, etc. even with Sticky Web. Beast Boost gives a Special Attack boost for Blacephalon, and running minimal SpA EVs for a Speed boost is a really terrible option.



Ribombee @

Shield Dust
252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe | Timid | 0 Atk
Stun Spore
| Moonblast
| Sticky Web
| Bug Buzz


Moves

Stun Spore is what sets Ribombee apart from the other new Sticky Web users in my eyes. Ribombee can now cripple Ground-types like Lando-T or lead Excadrill. It has middling accuracy, but against Ground- or Steel-types, I'd rather Stun Spore first then follow up with a Sticky Web. Moonblast does solid damage even when neutral, usually about 40%, 60% min. when super effective. It has a secondary effect of -1 SpA, which is nice against Mega Diancie, Zapdos, and other slower Special Attackers. Sticky Web has fallen in grace unfortunately, but I feel that with the introduction of Blacephalon, webs teams will have a solid spinblocker that isn't Mimikyu. Bug Buzz is another STAB move for Ribombee, and its usage is fairly textbook: use it if you're trying to hit what Moonblast won't. You can opt for Quiver Dance over Stun Spore or Bug Buzz for even more of an offensive presence, but you're almost never being able to set up webs and then set-up.

Misc.

Focus Sash guarantees Sticky Webs are up on the field unless it's a multi-hit attack like Rock Blast, but there aren't any fast Pokemon that run it. Shield Dust is amazing for a lead, as it prevents flinches from Fake Out. Always try to sneak a Moonblast or Stun Spore against Mega Lopunny turn 1 in hopes that they choke and Fake Out. Ribombee isn't common by any means, so not many players know what Shield Dust does. You can lead with Ribombee or with Exca, as both form a "SashSpam" core.



Pinsir @

Hyper Cutter >> Aerilate
252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe | Jolly
Quick Attack
| Swords Dance
| Return
| Earthquake


Moves

Any Normal-type move on Mega Pinsir becomes Flying-type. Quick Attack picks off low HP threats or does quick damage, ~44%, to Nagnadel, which is a pretty sizable threat. Swords Dance gives a massive boost in attack, allowing you to OHKO AV Magearna, Tyranitar, Heatran, and much more with Earthquake. Return still does massive damage to resists at +2 thanks to Aerilate. Close Combat is always available to hit Celesteela and Skarmory, and Stone Edge can target Zapdos primarily.

Misc.

Of course, the Pinsirite allows Pinsir to Mega Evolve and gain access to Aerilate. Aerilate, as I said, changes any Normal-type move to a Flying-type move, allowing QA and Return to gain STAB. Jolly is used over Adamant to ensure that Pinsir outspeeds Jolly Lando-T and Jolly base 100s.



Excadrill @

Mold Breaker
252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe | Jolly
Stealth Rock
| Earthquake
| Rapid Spin
| Toxic


Moves

Thanks to Mold Breaker, Excadrill can Stealth Rock and Toxic against Magic Bounce users (relevant ones being Mega Sableye and Diancie—the latter you'd want to EQ). Earthquake will also target Rotom-W, who is obviously going to have a surge in usage at the start of USM thanks to Defog. Excadrill leads up pretty nicely vs. Lando-T builds, as it can Toxic it and then Stealth Rock. If the Landorus got up its own rocks as you Toxic it, you can Rapid Spin in the following turn if rocks off of the field is more important than your own rocks in the game.

Misc.

Focus Sash allows Excadrill to avoid the OHKO from Landorus' EQ, allowing you to Toxic it. It can also revenge kill Naganadel and Blacephalon given that the Sash isn't broken. Mold Breaker ignores the opponent's ability, so it achieves the above goals as well as the ability to hit Mimikyu through Disguise, etc. Jolly makes Exca outspeed 290 Mew/Adamant Lando/Zygarde/base 100s. A Scarf variant of Exca makes you lose out on rocks unless you truly intend on running Scarf rocks Exca, but it makes revenge killing slightly easier. I don't recommend it on this team.



Magearna @

Soul-Heart
4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe | Timid | 0 Atk
Calm Mind
| Ice Beam
| Thunderbolt
| Shift Gear


Moves

Double Dance Magearna is hilarious. Once you get in that chip damage, Magearna easily cleans lategame. Now, unfortunately, this team's ways of breaking Chansey are limited to forcing it switch with Blacephalon and Mega Pinsir (Chansey can't touch Sub Blace), so Magearna won't have many opportunities vs. stall or general Chansey builds. CM increases SpDef and SpA, improving its overall bulk. BoltBeam is an amazing combo of moves with solid neutral coverage, only being resisted by Magnezone and Mamoswine and Rotom-Heat. Shift Gear allows Magearna to reach a 502 Speed benchmark, outspeeding Scarf Garchomp and below. Pain Split has some merit, but fits literally no where on this set unless you want to give up BoltBeam / Calm Mind boosts.

Misc.

Leftovers let Magearna stay in the game, recovering HP as it gets its boosts / KOs. This makes it harder to pick off with priority and works well with CM boosting SpDef. Timid gives Magearna 251 Speed, which reaches that aforementioned 502 benchmark at +2. Shuca Berry is a viable option to abuse Zygarde or Lando-T for a free Shift Gear (unless you get hit by a critical hit). Air Balloon leaves Magearna completely immune to Ground-type attacks, but pops against any direct damage, so it's unreliable. Sitrus or Iapapa Berries are solid, too, giving immediate recovery (at 1/2 HP for the former, 1/4 HP for the latter).

Replays



Threatlist

- Opposing Naganadel give this team struggle, especially if webs aren't up, Drill doesn't have sash, it hasn't been Stun Spored or if it gets a KO, giving it a normal speed stat to speed tie with my own Naga.

- Stall sucks. Your form of breaking Chansey is Mega Pinsir, and Blacephalon forces it out; never beating it unless it's the last Pokemon.

- Albeit very rare, Physical Autotomize Celesteela easily tears this team apart unless you Stun Spore it. Though I wouldn't naturally see much merit in doing so until it 6-0s me, than I feel stupid for not trying to.

/
- Threatening for Magearna, Blacephalon and Naganadel. It can be crippled by Ribombee or severely weakened / KO'd by Mega Pinsir and Excadrill.

Hazard Control - This team has some solid ways of punishing hazard control, such as Sub Blacephalon, but sometimes it can really mess you up if your win condition was webs on the field. This team has no Bisharp to punish Defoggers, either.


Conclusion

Webs, and HO builds in general, are very fun at the start of a new meta. I hope Naganadel doesn't get banned personally, but it is a pretty amazing Pokemon. Blacephalon has a solid place in the meta as a wallbreaker and cleaner depending on your set, and I feel it works brilliantly with webs up. I hope you guys like this team and enjoyed the RMT!

import:
 


mind = blown
Introduction
Yay, Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon is out! And with every new meta, there's always someone to abuse HO at the start. This team focuses around the 2 new mons, Naganadel and Blacephalon, and Ribombee's new tool of Sticky Web. I can't wait for the USM meta to further develop for OU, and I do expect a Naganadel suspect test given the current outrage in the community. Do I want it banned? No. Do I expect it to be banned? No. I feel it's just like when Tapu Lele, Xurkitree, etc. were introduced. Pretty stats = ban it!! People have to wait for the meta to change and need to adapt with their movesets and team choices. Adaption is something people in this community can't accept, as they feel adapting a Pokemon's moveset to handle a top threat lowers its overall viability. Blacephalon is fine, too. I see OU or BL in its future, similarly to Xurkitree and Kartana. Ribombee, imo, has fair competition with Shuckle as a webber. Both outclass Smeargle given that Shuckle has an actual defensive backbone with Ribombee having an offensive presence. Anyways, enjoy this RMT!
Teambuilding Process


Naganadel is the current outrage, so I want to cash in before a potential suspect test. This thing's cleaning abilities are amazing.

To assist Naga in sweeping lategame, I want to accompany it with a solid wallbreaker in Blacephalon. It also fits a theme of the 2 new UBs (Stakataka is wack). Blace is a great spinblocker as well, forcing out most Rapid Spin users afterward. Both struggle against Tyranitar, though.

Ribombee acts as a Sticky Web user with an offensive presence. It can even cripple Ground types such as Excadrill or Garchomp with a Stun Spore. It doesn't break past much in the meta, but it does about 40% to a lot of Pokemon, which is particularly helpful for Naganadel.

Mega Pinsir is another wallbreaker alongside Blacephalon. It can do massive damage to Tyranitar for it, and can weaken Magearna for Naganadel. It abuses the Sticky Webs excellently, outspeeding threats such as Tapu Koko or Ash Greninja.

Excadrill sets up Stealth Rock and can Rapid Spin them away. It can Toxic Mega Sableye for Naganadel and Blacephalon especially and targets Tyranitar, Heatran, Rotom-Wash, etc. Its Electric immunity lets it be a solid pivot to Tapu Koko at times, too.

Magearna caps the team off—giving the team two steel types for fairies and providing an additional win condition. Thanks to Blacephalon and Mega Pinsir, Magearna has an easy time picking mons off to snowball.


In-depth



Naganadel @
/

Beast Boost
252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe | Timid | 0 Atk
Draco Meteor
| Fire Blast
| Nasty Plot
| Sludge Wave



Moves

Firstly, Draco Meteor is an amazing STAB option. It's not the best for sweeping, but it works well in conjunction with Nasty Plot. A Draco Plate increases the power to 156, allowing you to nuke Mew and Toxapex at +2, Landorus, etc. This is your primary killing tool. Fire Blast targets the many Steel-types that would otherwise wall Naganadel; Ferrothorn, Celesteela, Scizor, Skarmory. It doesn't hit Heatran, but a +2 Draco hits hard enough. Nasty Plot will mostly be used when Naga forces a switch, which is does quite often. Given its amazing and near-perfect coverage (excluding Heatran), Naganadel makes many 50/50s in the battle. You can opt for an aggressive play and Nasty Plot, and after you get your KO, you start to get Speed boosts instead of Special Attack. This is what allows Naganadel to act as such a potent sweeper. Sludge Wave gets a STAB boost as well and primarily targets Fairies such as Tapu Fini or Unaware Clefable that would otherwise wall you. With a Life Orb or even a Toxic Plate, Sludge Wave 100% OHKOs Unaware Clefable.

Misc. [item(s), EVs, IVs, ability, nature]

A Draco Plate is the preferred item of choice on this team given that Blacephalon has occupied the Z-move. Otherwise, a Dragonium Z would be used to OHKO no investment Heatrans at +2 50% of the time. Life Orb is suitable as well, giving an all around boost to every move; meeting the aforementioned benchmark of a Sludge Wave OHKO on Unaware Clef. Toxic Plate has merit, too, but Naganadel is going to be abusing its main kill move in Draco Meteor. The EVs, IVs, and nature are straightforward. Beast Boost, with max Speed investment, gives a Speed boost. For a Special Attack boost, you can opt for 168 Spe instead (still outspeeding Base 111s and below), but it's quite unnecessary on this Nasty Plot set.



Blacephalon @

Beast Boost
252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe | Timid | 0 Atk
Substitute
| Mind Blown
| Fire Blast
| Shadow Ball



Moves

Substitute allows Blacephalon to punish switches. It lets Blace remain safe vs. Tyranitar, making it so that the sub gets Pursuit trapped instead. Mind Blown shouldn't be used unless Fire Blast won't KO. When you're using Firium Z, always click Mind Blown for a 200 BP STAB move. Fire Blast is a far more spammable move than Mind Blown, given that Mind Blown does 50% to you every time. Shadow Ball is for Toxapex, Diancie, etc., as it does massive damage at +1 to resists too. Psychic is an option over Mind Blown with Psychium Z for Toxapex specifically, but Pinsir and Excadrill will mitigate its abilities in the battle.

Misc.

Firium Z allows Blacephalon to do over 50% to almost everything that isn't fully SpDef invested. You can try Leftovers or Expert Belt to free up a Z-move slot for Nagandel. As said above, Psychium Z can be used in conjunction with Psychic specifically for Toxapex. Use Blace as a spinblocker as often as possible and Substitute on Sucker Punch users such as Mawile or Bisharp in hopes of winning the 50/50. Blacephalon has pitiful bulk, too, so don't expect it to switch into much. Its subpar speed tier of 344 leaves it slower than Keldeo and above, so be wary of Scarf Kartana, Terrakion, Keldeo, etc. even with Sticky Web. Beast Boost gives a Special Attack boost for Blacephalon, and running minimal SpA EVs for a Speed boost is a really terrible option.


Ribombee @

Shield Dust
252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe | Timid | 0 Atk
Stun Spore
| Moonblast
| Sticky Web
| Bug Buzz


Moves

Stun Spore is what sets Ribombee apart from the other new Sticky Web users in my eyes. Ribombee can now cripple Ground-types like Lando-T or lead Excadrill. It has middling accuracy, but against Ground- or Steel-types, I'd rather Stun Spore first then follow up with a Sticky Web. Moonblast does solid damage even when neutral, usually about 40%, 60% min. when super effective. It has a secondary effect of -1 SpA, which is nice against Mega Diancie, Zapdos, and other slower Special Attackers. Sticky Web has fallen in grace unfortunately, but I feel that with the introduction of Blacephalon, webs teams will have a solid spinblocker that isn't Mimikyu. Bug Buzz is another STAB move for Ribombee, and its usage is fairly textbook: use it if you're trying to hit what Moonblast won't. You can opt for Quiver Dance over Stun Spore or Bug Buzz for even more of an offensive presence, but you're almost never being able to set up webs and then set-up.

Misc.

Focus Sash guarantees Sticky Webs are up on the field unless it's a multi-hit attack like Rock Blast, but there aren't any fast Pokemon that run it. Shield Dust is amazing for a lead, as it prevents flinches from Fake Out. Always try to sneak a Moonblast or Stun Spore against Mega Lopunny turn 1 in hopes that they choke and Fake Out. Ribombee isn't common by any means, so not many players know what Shield Dust does. You can lead with Ribombee or with Exca, as both form a "SashSpam" core.



Pinsir @

Hyper Cutter >> Aerilate
252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe | Jolly
Quick Attack
| Swords Dance
| Return
| Earthquake


Moves

Any Normal-type move on Mega Pinsir becomes Flying-type. Quick Attack picks off low HP threats or does quick damage, ~44%, to Nagnadel, which is a pretty sizable threat. Swords Dance gives a massive boost in attack, allowing you to OHKO AV Magearna, Tyranitar, Heatran, and much more with Earthquake. Return still does massive damage to resists at +2 thanks to Aerilate. Close Combat is always available to hit Celesteela and Skarmory, and Stone Edge can target Zapdos primarily.

Misc.

Of course, the Pinsirite allows Pinsir to Mega Evolve and gain access to Aerilate. Aerilate, as I said, changes any Normal-type move to a Flying-type move, allowing QA and Return to gain STAB. Jolly is used over Adamant to ensure that Pinsir outspeeds Jolly Lando-T and Jolly base 100s.


Excadrill @

Mold Breaker
252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe | Jolly
Stealth Rock
| Earthquake
| Rapid Spin
| Toxic


Moves

Thanks to Mold Breaker, Excadrill can Stealth Rock and Toxic against Magic Bounce users (relevant ones being Mega Sableye and Diancie—the latter you'd want to EQ). Earthquake will also target Rotom-W, who is obviously going to have a surge in usage at the start of USM thanks to Defog. Excadrill leads up pretty nicely vs. Lando-T builds, as it can Toxic it and then Stealth Rock. If the Landorus got up its own rocks as you Toxic it, you can Rapid Spin in the following turn if rocks off of the field is more important than your own rocks in the game.

Misc.

Focus Sash allows Excadrill to avoid the OHKO from Landorus' EQ, allowing you to Toxic it. It can also revenge kill Naganadel and Blacephalon given that the Sash isn't broken. Mold Breaker ignores the opponent's ability, so it achieves the above goals as well as the ability to hit Mimikyu through Disguise, etc. Jolly makes Exca outspeed 290 Mew/Adamant Lando/Zygarde/base 100s. A Scarf variant of Exca makes you lose out on rocks unless you truly intend on running Scarf rocks Exca, but it makes revenge killing slightly easier. I don't recommend it on this team.



Magearna @

Soul-Heart
4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe | Timid | 0 Atk
Calm Mind
| Ice Beam
| Thunderbolt
| Shift Gear


Moves

Double Dance Magearna is hilarious. Once you get in that chip damage, Magearna easily cleans lategame. Now, unfortunately, this team's ways of breaking Chansey are limited to forcing it switch with Blacephalon and Mega Pinsir (Chansey can't touch Sub Blace), so Magearna won't have many opportunities vs. stall or general Chansey builds. CM increases SpDef and SpA, improving its overall bulk. BoltBeam is an amazing combo of moves with solid neutral coverage, only being resisted by Magnezone and Mamoswine and Rotom-Heat. Shift Gear allows Magearna to reach a 502 Speed benchmark, outspeeding Scarf Garchomp and below. Pain Split has some merit, but fits literally no where on this set unless you want to give up BoltBeam / Calm Mind boosts.

Misc.

Leftovers let Magearna stay in the game, recovering HP as it gets its boosts / KOs. This makes it harder to pick off with priority and works well with CM boosting SpDef. Timid gives Magearna 251 Speed, which reaches that aforementioned 502 benchmark at +2. Shuca Berry is a viable option to abuse Zygarde or Lando-T for a free Shift Gear (unless you get hit by a critical hit). Air Balloon leaves Magearna completely immune to Ground-type attacks, but pops against any direct damage, so it's unreliable. Sitrus or Iapapa Berries are solid, too, giving immediate recovery (at 1/2 HP for the former, 1/4 HP for the latter).
Replays



Threatlist

- Opposing Naganadel give this team struggle, especially if webs aren't up, Drill doesn't have sash, it hasn't been Stun Spored or if it gets a KO, giving it a normal speed stat to speed tie with my own Naga.

- Stall sucks. Your form of breaking Chansey is Mega Pinsir, and Blacephalon forces it out; never beating it unless it's the last Pokemon.

- Albeit very rare, Physical Autotomize Celesteela easily tears this team apart unless you Stun Spore it. Though I wouldn't naturally see much merit in doing so until it 6-0s me, than I feel stupid for not trying to.

/
- Threatening for Magearna, Blacephalon and Naganadel. It can be crippled by Ribombee or severely weakened / KO'd by Mega Pinsir and Excadrill.

Hazard Control - This team has some solid ways of punishing hazard control, such as Sub Blacephalon, but sometimes it can really mess you up if your win condition was webs on the field. This team has no Bisharp to punish Defoggers, either.


Conclusion

Webs, and HO builds in general, are very fun at the start of a new meta. I hope Naganadel doesn't get banned personally, but it is a pretty amazing Pokemon. Blacephalon has a solid place in the meta as a wallbreaker and cleaner depending on your set, and I feel it works brilliantly with webs up. I hope you guys like this team and enjoyed the RMT!

import:
oh god this team is so weak to ground, but i do like this team, have been meaning to use slurpuff webs tbh, cuz the only thing that walls +6 play rough and drain punch is thapex. also nice bulk means he gets up webs easy, and outspeeds literally everything except unburden lucha after webs unburden.
 
This team has its strengths and weaknesses, and even though I've only played a little post-Ultra OU, I'll try and sort out what's good and bad here. (And my apologies if the formatting of my post ends up being jacked: writing on an iPhone 4 can get a bit sketchy at times)

Good:

- I like Ribombee as a webs setter with that set. Stun Spore is a great tool, for one, being arguably superior to Shuckle's Encore in terms of the general disruption it can cause to the opponent's team. Beyond that, while it's unfortunate that the lil' bug's dual STAB is resisted by many of OU's most common members, it still has offensive capabilities that Shuckle and Smeargle obviously don't and can make itself useful even after doing what it came to do, which Shuckle in particular can struggle with if the opponent is smart enough to avoid Encore.

- While I don't hold a high opinion of Blacephalon in general, Substitute + Webs is probably the best setup it'll ever manage, as that combination eases its issues with poor SE coverage by making it generally less reliant on OHKOs (and its Z-Move by extension) due to its ability to actually get off two attacks against basically anything as long as it can find a time to Sub up. The ability to destroy overeager Sucker Punch Bisharps particularly stands out, since that hunk of junk is an obvious threat to your playstyle otherwise.



Those are the two main points that I liked about your version of Webs in particular. They aren't the only strengths, of course, but I doubt you need me to tell you that Naganadel is a beast (in more than one way) or that Pinsir/DD Magearna are both rock-solid choices for the style. We both know those facts already, and I wouldn't really have any new points to raise pertaining to them, so I won't bother wasting the space.

Now, onto the team's problems:

- As the above poster mentioned, your team is horrifically weak to Ground, with two-thirds of the members being weak to it and the other two being distinctly non-defensive mons that get worn down by SR and bopped by Rock coverage while also simply having better things to do in general than attempt switching into Earthquakes all day. Scarf Lando is particularly threatening, as it doesn't care about Webs and therefore outspeeds your entire team while also being able to throw out a Stone Edge or U-Turn into a threat should you attempt to beat it with one of the bugs. While a +1 Speed Naganadel threatens it back, and Blacephelon can Sub up on a switch-in and hit it with Overdrive, it's still a massive threat if your opponent can avoid those specific situations. ScarfChomp, while not as common, also presents most of those same problems and even adds a Fire resistance on top of them.


- This is a more minor nitpick, but Sash Excadrill isn't a great idea given how it's the team's only form of hazard response, meaning that the sash will always be broken if the opponent gets up either SR or Spikes before it comes in - and given that 'Drill probably won't be leading most of the time, that's going to happen quite a bit.


- Both formes of Greninja can trouble this team as well, as Protean sets often run Scarf and therefore still outrun your whole unboosted team (and, equally notably, +1 Nag if webs are gone), allowing it to smack you with a STAB Ice Beam/Hydro Pump/Dark Pulse as the situation demands. The fact that it dual-resists SubCeph's STAB hurts too, since it can take an unboosted hit if necessary and "2HKO" back. Meanwhile, Ash-ninja threatens all of your boosters outside of webs and SubCeph inside of them thanks to Water Shuriken and Ice Beam.



Yeah, so those were just a few things I noticed. Sorry if it got a bit walloftext-y there, but I was feeling my descriptions lol. Hope I helped!
 
One other point I forgot about: without a Defiant user, your team struggles to properly pressure some Defoggers outside of attempting to set up right in their faces, which can be a less than ideal situation when that Latios in front of you could just end up going for Scarf Psychic on your Nasty Plot. Again, this is less of an issue if you're already set up when they come in, but also again, it won't always work out that way.
 
Oh - I don't mean to spam this with my three posts in a row, but I just noticed that you mentioned how you do lead Excadrill against certain builds, so the sash makes more sense. Disregard what I said about that, then.
 

mael

not the same but equal
is a Community Contributorwon the 14th Official Smogon Tournamentis a Past SPL Champion
UUPL Champion
webs ho is rly good and has been the whole 7th generation and now with new toys to play with you'll obviously want to try it. your team is not bad, exca + ribombee is a very solid starting point for webs offense and obviously you'd use a pokemon as threatening as the poison-dragon. i'd honestly replace blacephalon as a whole but i have a feeling you'd not like that. if you want to replace it, put a zygarde there, or another somewhat bulky set up sweeper. you could also opt for lando in that slot too. if you don't want to replace blacephalon i still have a few other changes you should def try out:
  • you sorta struggle vs ground mons, bc your ground ressist is pinsir, which hates taking damage prior to setting up. i reckon you'd have an easier time with shuca on magearna, bc then you don't have to sac when u face a lando w. magearna and haven't set up yet. alternatively mag mag really bulky to live one non boosted earthquake, that could be a neat tech that allows you to keep the leftovers for the match up vs other mags.
  • honestly on these type of builds i also think mgyara is a better choice than mpinsir, bc a) better ground counterplay and b) gyara actually breaks through fat teams a bit easier using eq and crunch, because it's better vs shit like zap / unaware mons / mimikyu, due to neutral hitting stab and unaware. the set i'd use would be straight up max atk / max speed and give it eq / crunch / dd and then either sub or waterfall, depending on what you wanna do. i've used these teams a bit and always ended up replacing pinsir with gyara.
  • another thing i'd def change is ribombees last slot. stun spore is a sick tech, moonblast hits stuff but bug buzz feels fairly useless, considering that most shit weak to bug moves is either dark and thus hit by moonblast or is p rare (mainly mono grass stuff like tang). i'd put either hp ground for tran or hp fire vs defog scizors, which as of now really spoil the show for you.
 
I've played a good 12 matches with this team for the past hour and a half. At fist I was getting shit stomped by Scarf Lando so I made a few changes and so far I'm on an 8 winstreak with this team and I'm loving it.

  • Firstly, I changed Bug Buzz on Ribombee for HP Fire, to catch the standard Utility Mega Scizor like people said. It also catches the Ferrothorns that might try to use Ribombee as fodder to setup hazards.

  • I changed Mind Blow in Blacephalon for Calm Mind to exploit the fact that skilless AIDS Chansey can't touch you behind a Sub, but you can also change it to Psyshock since it 2HKOS Shed Shell SpDef Pex after Rocks and has a 80% chance to 2HKO Black Sludge variant after Rocks and it's a garanteed 2HKO after Rocks and 1 Spike. Depends if you think you're having trouble breaking Toxapex.

  • I couldn't decide on Blacephalon's item tho. I tried Ghostium and Firium, but I found myself using the Z-Move on Naga every time, leaving me basically itemless. I tried Life Orb and Leftovers too, but Blace gets worn down too quickly to abuse any of the 2. Right now I've settled for Lefties.

  • Then I gave Naganadel its "standard" Dragonium Z instead of Life Orb since it, much like Ash-Greninja, it appreacites the boost and freedom of moves but it gets chipped really quickly by Orb, Sand and Hazards before it can sweep.

  • Speaking of Ash-Greninja, I replaced Magearna with him just to try it out (Since he's my favorite Pokemon of all time) and it ended up complementing the team really well. Sure it doesn't provide a defensive backbone but it really works well as an offensive check for the ground types that otherwise destroy the team. I also found that it plays really well with Naganadel and Blacephalon, since one of their most used counters its AV Tyranitar, if you play aggresively and double to Gren from your Naga or Blace on the incoming Ttar, you can sort of reverse trap it, since it still gets 2HKOd by Specs Pump and you can scare it out and set up a Spike to keep chipping the enemy team and sweep late game with Naganadel, Pinsir or Ash-Greninja.
THREATS: If you aren't already +1 with Naga and Zygarde manages to set up a Sub or DD (or both), then don't worry, the optimal play in that case is the X button.

Excadrill (M) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Rapid Spin
- Stealth Rock
- Toxic

Ribombee (F) @ Focus Sash
Ability: Shield Dust
Shiny: Yes
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Sticky Web
- Stun Spore
- Moonblast
- Hidden Power [Fire]

Naganadel @ Dragonium Z
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Draco Meteor
- Sludge Wave
- Fire Blast
- Nasty Plot

Blacephalon @ Life Orb
Ability: Beast Boost
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Substitute
- Shadow Ball
- Fire Blast
- Psyshock

Pinsir-Mega (M) @ Pinsirite
Ability: Hyper Cutter
EVs: 248 Atk / 8 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Swords Dance
- Return
- Quick Attack
- Earthquake

Greninja-Ash @ Choice Specs
Ability: Battle Bond
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Hydro Pump
- Dark Pulse
- Water Shuriken
- Spikes
 
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So I just noticed that my rate assumed your Naganadel was a Z-set. I've seen that so often by now that I just took it for granted lol. But yeah, I agree with the above poster that your Z-Move is better used on Naga than Blacephalon, since among other things like the above-mentioned lack of unnecessary chip damage, it's usually going to be your best method of breaking past Toxapex (which your team appreciates, since even though Pinsir and Excadrill should beat it 1v1, neither of them appreciate risking a switch into Scald).
 
I wanted to let you know I really like you team and I found it super enjoyable to play. I'm trying to start a segment on YouTube where I find teams online and do a sort of rate my team. Most of what I said falls in line with what other posters have pointed out (ground typing issues, stall being a pain in the butt, etc.), but I'd love for you to check it out and see if I did your team justice. Any feedback helps me grow so thanks in advance.

 

temp

legacy
is a Battle Simulator Staff Alumnus
I wanted to let you know I really like you team and I found it super enjoyable to play. I'm trying to start a segment on YouTube where I find teams online and do a sort of rate my team. Most of what I said falls in line with what other posters have pointed out (ground typing issues, stall being a pain in the butt, etc.), but I'd love for you to check it out and see if I did your team justice. Any feedback helps me grow so thanks in advance.

Aye, cool video! Like the format and enjoyed the rate too.
Thanks @ all other raters as well! :]
 

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