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As Smogon wades through the messy clusterfuck known as BW2, I'd like to give the old OU metagame a last hurrah by presenting one of the most consistent and well-known teams from the pre-BW2 era. Blue_Blur's team, The Schwein, has been around since the days that Thundurus and Excadrill were wreaking havoc in standard play, and is an excellent example of a standard stall team with very few exploitable holes. Blue_Blur's team draws from the success of other renowned stall players, such as mien and Ace Matador, and has yielded Blue_Blur a great deal of success on the ladder and in the prestigious Smogon Frontier. Despite powerful new threats being discovered in the Dream World and the 'power creep' that has been observed as new Generations are released, The Schwein is yet another indication that stall will almost undoubtedly remain a successful and viable playstyle.

Leading off for Blue_Blur's sluggish stall team is, ironically, one of the most powerful and feared offensive threats in BW OU: Choice Band Tyranitar. This monstrous Barney look-alike, however, is not out of place whatsoever on a team that revolves around stalling out the opponent. Most importantly, it gives Blue_Blur the means to change the weather against teams that pack Politoed or Ninetales, which helps the rest of his team sponge attacks quite considerably. It further supports the team but trapping and killing a variety of problematic Pokemon with Pursuit, such as Jellicent and Latios. Against other stall teams, it allows Blue_Blur to gain the immediate upper hand, since very few defensive teams have the right answers to a STAB Stone Edge or Crunch from an Attack stat over 600.

A staple to most pure stall teams, Blissey is Blue_Blur's choice as a go-to special wall. Blissey has the ability to tank virtually all special attackers with impunity, including Politoed and Ninetales, which greatly aids Blue_Blur in winning the weather war. Blissey is Blue_Blur's choice to set up Stealth Rock, as its unmatched special bulk causes a huge number of switches, meaning Blue_Blur can get the entry hazard up with ease. Because of this, Blissey has no room to run Wish and Protect, which are otherwise phenomenal moves on Blissey to keep both herself and her teammates healthy. Instead, Blissey utilizes Softboiled to stay healthy, and in tandem with Toxic, Blissey is able to outstall a huge array of special threats, such as Rotom-W, Latios, and Volcarona, just to name a few.

If Blissey was Blue_Blur's way of checking special threats, Gliscor is his answer to all things physical. Its great typing yields an immunity to Ground and resistance to Fighting-type attacks, and when coupled with Gliscor's natural bulk, it becomes one of the best answers to the likes of Terrakion, Lucario, Salamence, and Dragonite. Protect is a great way for Gliscor to scout potentially Choiced Pokemon, as well as quickly regaining HP via Poison Heal. Earthquake and Ice Fang are two absolute staples on all Gliscor, giving the giant bat a reliable STAB attack and a means of hitting Dragon-types immune to Ground, respectively. By using Swords Dance, Blue_Blur is able to ensure his Gliscor will always come out on top against Substitute + Dragon Dance Dragonite, and maybe even execute a sweep once opposing walls are weakened.

Combining to form a daunting physical duo with Gliscor is Quagsire. Despite languishing in the depths of RU, Quagsire possesses one trait that makes it a key component to many stall teams: the capacity to effortlessly wall set-up sweepers. Pokemon like Swords Dance Scizor are completely thwarted in their attempts to sweep by Quagsire's ability, Unaware, and can't do enough damage to Quagsire thanks to its huge defensive bulk and access to Recover. Scald is a great attack on Quagsire despite its pitiful Special Attack, due to the 30% burn rate, which makes outstalling physical set-up Pokemon much easier. Earthquake plows through Terrakion and Tyranitar, and it's generally a solid damage dealing STAB attack. Much like Blissey, Quagsire can use Toxic to nail incoming Pokemon, and then stall them into oblivion with Recover, making Quagsire one very tough nut to crack if the opponent isn't packing an extremely powerful special attacker.

Primarily used by Blue_Blur as a utility Pokemon, Latias is a very useful means of dismantling a variety of team archetypes. The ever infamous VoltTurn strategy is foiled thanks to Latias's ability to wall Rotom-W and OHKO Scizor with Hidden Power Fire, while Blue_Blur's use of Calm Mind on Latias will give opposing sun teams headaches. In addition to giving Blue_Blur a win condition to sweep with at the end of matches, Latias is also his secondary special wall, as she possesses all the tools necessary to dismantle otherwise problematic special sweepers like Virizion. Recover keeps Latias healthy throughout the match, and considering Blue_Blur packs three Toxic users, Latias will likely have the opportunity to set up against and outstall a poisoned foe.

Rounding out Blue_Blur's stall team is Forretress, a necessity to ensure his team isn't bogged down by opposing entry hazards. With Ferrothorn and Skarmory running rampant in BW OU, Forretress is a great Pokemon for almost any team, since it can switch into them without fear and spin away their hazards. Blue_Blur also employs Forretress to set up his own Spikes, which is useful in wearing down offensive teams that don't pack a spinner of their own. While it may seem odd to forgo Toxic Spikes, Blue_Blur has decided to use Toxic to get the poison on Levitating Pokemon like Latios, as Forretress can tank anything but Hidden Power Fire thanks to its impressive special bulk and typing. Volt Switch has become a staple on most Forretress since it's a great scouting move against incoming Jellicent and Tentacruel. When combined with Blue_Blur's fast Choice Band Tyranitar, Volt Switch Forretress is an excellent lure to trap and KO a wide array of troublesome foes.

Due to the nature of BW OU, even a team that counters such a huge number of Pokemon has a few notable weaknesses. Gengar is undoubtedly public enemy #1, as Blue_Blur lacks anything to switch in and OHKO it without the risk of being OHKOed back. Haxorus is another difficult Pokemon for Blue_Blur to face, since its ability negates Quagsire's Unaware, so after a Dragon Dance Haxorus can be difficult to counter. Like almost all stall teams, mixed sweepers like Salamence and Dragonite can be extremely problematic due to their great mixed stats, though they are quickly worn down by sandstorm, Life Orb recoil, and Stealth Rock. Blue_Blur's The Schwein is by no means a unique team, but he has used it to a huge degree of success over the past year, and it is a great example of an intelligently constructed stall team that is tailored to countering nearly every threat in such a diverse metagame.

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