OU Archetype Team Building Challenge

Introduction
After over a year of playing ADV I have finally hit over 1500 ELO and made it onto the top 500 ladder. After achieving this it has made me reflect on what has helped me improve my ADV game the most. Upon reflection I think the biggest defining turning point that took me from floundering in 1300's to greater consistency was a challenge I set myself earlier in the year based on Vapicunos excellent Archetype and Cores team building thread. The simple idea of the challenge was to create a team for each of the 9 archetypes as described in Vapicuno's thread, create a new alt account for each (starting with CR94) and play 25 games. After mentioning this challenge around a few ADV discords and gaining some interest I thought I would document the challenge and experience in a more detailed format.

As should go without saying this was not by any means a scientific experiment, clearly a very large factor in these results is my own subjectivity (I have clear biases and preferences for certain archetypes, namely offence based ones) and to a lesser extent the volatility of low ladder. Also of note is that many archetypes contained numerous sub archetypes, where this was the case I just chose the one I preferred building at the time. I am not going to go over the teams I built in any great depth although I will mention any key Pokemon that I felt stood out or helped make the team more unique.

The Results

1. Milotic/Celebi Balance
25 Battles:

ELO - 1257
GXE - 65.6 %
W - 16
L - 9

Notes:
The first team I built as part of this challenge and one that helped me get off to a great start and really commit to the idea of this challenge. At the time of the challenge I had never made use of this core or even really used Milotic at all. This team also featured my first consistent use of Wish CM Jirachi a Pokemon I used in other teams in this challenge and still think is great. Overall I really enjoyed using this archetype and using a different paced team helped me improve.

2. Magneton Offense
25 Battles:

ELO - 1273
GXE - 65.2%
W - 17
L - 8

Notes:
An archetype I had already had some experience playing with mixed success. In the end I made a pretty standard physical offence team although I did make use of a bulky bulk up Machamp lead which I actually still think is pretty good. The team also contained the often mocked DD Salamence which whilst it can win games I think unfortunately is the worst Salamence (though overall I still think Salamence is great especially mixed more on that later). The first couple of games I had a Gyarados in the team which I played poorly and wrote off; but long after this challenge I have since used a rest Gyarados with the well known UD Gyarados-Steelix team and found it a solid Pokemon. Overall I understand the flaws of this archetype but a well built team can work well using it and Mag in general in a Skarm heavy meta is great.

3. Skarm Bliss TSS (AKA Big 5 TSS)
25 Battles:

ELO - 1269
GXE - 66.9%
W - 16
L - 9

Notes:
Not much to say on this one big 5 TSS everyone knows it, I used Starmie (it's good) as my last. There is lots of interesting innovations and variations but not a build I run much, a team where I've probably spent far more time on how to beat it rather than win with it.

4. Spikeless (sorry BKC)/Mixed Offense
25 Battles:

ELO - 1364
GXE - 72.4%
W - 19
L - 6

Notes:
Spoilers but my best performing team in this challenge. Built around late game DD Tar which is just a fantastic sweeper. Also as if to demonstrate the huge gaps in my play at the time my first (definitely not my last) serious use of Mixed Salamence which goes without saying is fantastic. Really what I like most about this archetype is the hard offence it enables and flexibility in team building around the biggest as well as the most obscure threats. I suppose it is here where I will make my defence of Snorlax as a fantastic offensive and defensive threat. Pretty much essential on these builds, curse + 3 attacks or all out 4 attacks a must.

5. Porygon 2/CM Spam
25 Battles:

ELO - 1195
EXE - 59.7%
W - 15
L - 10

Notes:
An archetype I have used before and after this challenge but never quite got working. I changed the team a bit in the beginning so probably its results should be a bit better. The modern lead Raikou is a great early threat. First use in this challenge of one of my favourite ADV Pokemon Suicune (calm mind Suicune has no weak as the saying goes). I do like Porygon 2 and it can sometimes put in loads of work in a game but I think the next time I experiment with CM spam I might drop it and deal with Dug in other ways. That said the other grounded threats it enables is cool such as Hera which can fit on this kind of team.

6. Pursuit Tyranitar
25 Battle:

ELO - 1278
GXE - 64.6%
W - 17
L - 8

Notes:
This was another archetype I had a lot of fun playing as I was able to include Pokemon I had not used much such as Forretress, Flygon and Venusaur. Pursuit Tyranitar enables so many threats it really does open up a lot of teams. Black glasses for that extra power on Gengar is good.

7. Special Spikes Stack/Jolt Spikes
25 Battles:

ELO - 1278
GXE - 64.6&
W - 17
L - 8

Notes:
The first archetype I used when I started out and one commonly used by many beginners for its intuitive play. Always fun to play and still a solid playstyle to use. Not too much to say it was a style I had probably used the most at that point but was still useful rebuilding a team from scratch and really thinking about it.

8. Dugtrio Stall/Balance
25 Battles:

ELO - 1215
GXE - 59.5%
W - 16
L - 9

Notes
Again another playstyle that took me out of my comfort zone. The biggest lesson I took from using it was bulky rest Zapdos is a great Pokemon and sometimes nigh impossible to KO. If building in this style it's still important to have offensive threats beyond just spikes, CM wish Jirachi again proved how it can win games. I forfeited one game that turned into a PP war with the end far in sight, not worth it for ladder on an alt.

9. Spinner/Mag Balance/Bulky Offence
25 Battles:

ELO -1156
GXE - 51%
W - 13
L - 12

Notes
The worst performing team of the challenge although almost completely through my own fault. I was getting a bit burnt out towards the end and couldn't settle on what team to build and changed the team a lot. A team built around a spinner and bulky offence Pokemon (Snorlax, Suicune etc) can do better than this. I didn't want to redo it seen as I did the challenge a while ago.

Bonus - Rain Offense
25 Battles:

ELO - 1283
GXE - 67.5%
W - 17
L - 8

Notes
At the start of the challenge I knew at the end I was going to do a bonus rain team. An archetype that is fun to play although one that you have to know how to take care of its key threats. Thanks to Sadlysius's A deep look at Rain Offense thread for getting me started. I think this is an under utilised archetype and one that isn't a gimmick. Also Ludicolo isn't as bad as some people make out. Rain doubling speed and power of water moves has lots of potential.

Conclusion
As stated in the introduction this challenge that I did earlier in the year really did represent a turning point in my ADV playing. Building a team and playing 25 games in every archetype helped me to use moves, sets, Pokemon and playstyles I had never used before. From this challenge I really did get a much broader understanding of the teams I was building, playing and competing against. If anyone has the time to do it or a similar challenge I really would recommend it to round out your ADV. Thanks to Vapicuno for his amazing thread and inspiring this challenge, the Smogon OU Pokedex and BKC for his every Pokemon in ADV Youtube video, the three things you need to try the challenge for yourself. The other important thing i took away from this challenge is I now test out every serious team I build with 25 games on a fresh alt.
 
Hey, this is a cool thread! specially for those who want to train in ADV, This is a challenge that help players improve at building and playing other playstyles, today I tried the MiloCele core in a classic offensive team, this is what I used and how it went, going to share the results with all the archetypes but for the moment will drop this one.

MiloCele Bulky Offense - Make & Jhonx

Salamence @ Choice Band
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Hidden Power [Flying]
- Rock Slide
- Earthquake
- Brick Break

Milotic @ Leftovers
Ability: Marvel Scale
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpA
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Surf
- Recover
- Toxic
- Ice Beam

Celebi @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 124 Def / 40 SpA / 60 SpD / 32 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 SpA
- Leech Seed
- Recover
- Heal Bell
- Hidden Power [Grass]

Snorlax @ Leftovers
Ability: Immunity
EVs: 144 HP / 96 Atk / 132 Def / 136 SpD
Careful Nature
- Curse
- Rest
- Body Slam
- Shadow Ball

Magneton @ Magnet
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 Spe
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Thunder Wave
- Metal Sound

Metagross @ Lum Berry
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 168 HP / 252 Atk / 88 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Agility
- Meteor Mash
- Earthquake
- Explosion

25 Battles Record:
ELO - 1317
GXE - 71.4%
W - 20
L - 5

This team is really old, from NetBattle to be honest, I dont know who built this originally, I know my tutor Make spammed it during the time, the main idea of this team is build around Salamence CB which is an amazing breaker, Celebi supports Salamence with Leech Seed support and Heal Bell preventing status affect Salamence, Celebi can wall Suicune / Swampert and other threats that stop Salamence, Milotic here prevents stuff like DD Mence and other things like DD Tyranitar sweep the core, Milotic also offer good defensive utility being able to take stuff like Swampert (again) and Metagross forcing Metagross to explode or switch, Magneton here traps Skarmory and Forretress supporting CB Salamence, I use it Thunder Wave Metal Sound because sometimes u can para a Jirachi or other pokemon then Metal Sound let you KO with Thunderbolt, also, Metal Sound can force switchs, I chose to add Agility Metagross since it takes advantage of the defensive utility this team have and pairs well with Magneton since Skarmory and Forre will be removed most of the times, Agility in late game can sweep and if it doesnt, it takes a wall with Explosion, finally Curse Snorlax with Rest, Body Slam, Shadow Ball, this set was the best I could fit here, considering that this team removes Skarm and steels that wall Snorlax its much easier for it to sweep with Curse, Shadow Ball allow you to hit Gengar, Rest is for recovery and paired with Curse ur taking less dmg from phys users, Rest also pairs well here because I have Heal Bell Celebi here.

After play this challenge today I found that MiloCele teams tend to be weak to Heracross SD sets most of the times, Ninjask BP Offenses can be troublesome if well played too, for this you can drop a move on CB Mence and run Roar (Make's Suggestion), there werent many stuff that I found troublesome, be careful when playing agaisnt Boom Offenses too, Milotic is key on matchups where you face DD Offenses and Metagross Teams, another thing I want to add to the conclusion is that MiloCele teams are much better when used as Offensive Teams, Defensive teams with this core tends to be very restrictive and more easy to break, while Offensive can get sweeped by Heracross, this team can pressure much stuff and win most matchups. I could ve went 23-2 using this but I had a really hard time in ladder agaisnt RNG, getting freeze 2 times in a row, crits, paralysis, and much stuff lmfao....
 
Dragon Dance Mag Offense - Jhonx

Metagross @ Leftovers
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 164 HP / 224 SpA / 120 Spe
Quiet Nature
- Meteor Mash
- Hidden Power [Grass]
- Thunder Punch
- Explosion

Salamence @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 180 Atk / 212 SpD / 116 Spe
Adamant Nature
IVs: 30 SpA / 30 SpD / 30 Spe
- Hidden Power [Flying]
- Rock Slide
- Earthquake
- Dragon Dance

Gyarados @ Leftovers
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 68 HP / 252 Atk / 188 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Dragon Dance
- Hidden Power [Ghost]
- Earthquake
- Substitute

Magneton @ Magnet
Ability: Magnet Pull
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 2 Atk / 30 SpA / 30 Spe
- Thunderbolt
- Hidden Power [Fire]
- Toxic
- Substitute

Celebi @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 HP / 124 Def / 40 SpA / 60 SpD / 32 Spe
Bold Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Leech Seed
- Recover
- Heal Bell
- Psychic

Snorlax @ Leftovers
Ability: Immunity
EVs: 144 HP / 96 Atk / 132 Def / 136 SpD
Careful Nature
- Curse
- Rest
- Body Slam
- Earthquake

25 Battles Record:
ELO - 1502
GXE - 82.1%
W - 23
L - 2

This was by far the fastest day and the most easy one probably, this team is not very good I think, it doesnt aim to do much and in theory it shouldn't work, but somehow it did amazing on ladder, I think this is mainly because actual teams are weak like most teams on ladder dont have a strategy or a gameplan when these are built, but at the same time I think its because for me as an Offense player, Magneton Offences can overwhelm all the metagame, Magneton is such a good pokemon, if its used in the right moment it removes Skarmory and Forretress and that let ur offense have game to end pressuring teams, main idea of this team was DD Spam consisting on Salamence Sdef to tank Ice Punch Gengar and Gyarados DD HP Ghost to lure Starmie and KO Bulky Gengars, I chose to lead with Mixed Metagross because it can open holes on fat teams, when its lead ppl think its CB or something like that, so they switch into Skarm or Swampert most of the times and u lure those, MixGross removes threats ur DD's hate to face and Explosion into a wall like Milotic or Defensive Suicune, Salamence is the sweeper and have good bulk, Gyarados can abuse of bulky waters and other defensive stuff to setup and sweep, lot of teams are not prepared to face Gyarados and thats amazing, Magneton removes Forretress and Skarm, also can revenge kill Metagross in some moments, Celebi here is to tank Zapdos and other things like Gengar, Leech + Heal Bell is amazing support since this team have dual intimidation and my sweepers hate being statused, finally Curse Lax to have another way to sweep in late game + its supported by Heal Bell, working amazing with Rest or to heal status since Lax can sponge burns or stuff, it was really fun use this on ladder and I dont see many weaknesses, Offense well played can win vs everything.

As for Magneton Offense, its very easy to explore it, there are many options, my favorite one is SD Pass with Celebi and the one I have more success with, but I wanted to try a bulkier variation of Mag Offense, since this challenge is designed to explore playstyles, have fun exploring this incredible archetype.
 
Offensive TSS - Jhonx

Tyranitar @ Choice Band
Ability: Sand Stream
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Rock Slide
- Focus Punch
- Earthquake
- Hidden Power [Bug]

Skarmory @ Leftovers
Ability: Keen Eye
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpD / 4 Spe
Careful Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Spikes
- Roar
- Protect
- Toxic

Blissey (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 252 Def / 252 SpA / 4 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Calm Mind
- Soft-Boiled
- Ice Beam
- Thunderbolt

Swampert @ Salac Berry
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 4 Def / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Substitute
- Endeavor
- Hydro Pump
- Ice Beam

Gengar @ Leftovers
Ability: Levitate
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
- Thunderbolt
- Ice Punch
- Hidden Power [Grass]
- Explosion

Dugtrio @ Choice Band
Ability: Arena Trap
EVs: 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Aerial Ace
- Hidden Power [Bug]

25 Battles Record:
ELO - 1496
GXE - 80.1%
W - 22
L - 3

Well, at first I was trying to build around TSS and I had a limited view of this playstyle, I always thought a good TSS SkarmBliss needed to be stall, then I tried new options after some advices in ADV Cord and decided to try build an offense with this lol, I chose CB Tar because it can deal lot of dmg since t1, added Skarmory Standard to support CBTar damage with Spikes and have defensive backbone, I picked CM Blissey because its a cool way to keep CM Threats controlled and it dont lose to bulky waters like CM Suicune or CM Jirachi, while it let me have a cool offensive option to support Tyranitar agaisnt its counters, Gengar here with a fully offensive set to remove Blissey and hit Swampert, while BoltBeam coverage is just too good, Swampert here works to fool people and make them believe its defensive since the structure of my team, people damage pert enough and then I surprise back with Endeavor and Salac Berry creating holes in opposing team, it also let me take down Milotic and lot of fat things to support Gengar and Ttar, and finally Dugtrio to trap and kill stuff like Metagross, Magneton, Jirachi or even DD Tyranitar, remove Celebi is amazing too.

This team in theory shouldnt work, it have lot of flaws and should not be played too defensively, it lacks defenses compared to a stall, but having offensive sets instead defensive ones helps you to break teams, because players expect the opposing sets and the surprise factor make the work to win, I was stuck trying stall and this was the light that helped me do a good score with this playstyle LOL, fun team and cool results, be careful agaisnt Fight Spam and Heracross.
 
Camerupt Bulky Offense - Jhonx (Spikeless Challenge)

25 Battles Record:

ELO - 1430
GXE - 81.0%
W - 21
L - 4

First of All, I have to thanks Make because he taught me how Camerupt had to be used, I really love this team, Im like surprised because I always considered Camerupt its not very good and indeed...its not very good, it can do good stuff like check Gengar, some Jirachi, push SkarmBliss, and Electric types, but its still a niche mon, discovering this mon I understood that the main role Camerupt have its explosion, and it can take down a Bulky Water with Explosion so I focused on that when I decided to use it, when building around Camerupt I focused on bring things that benefit of bulky waters gone, like Salamence and Metagross, Salamence offensive stats and Metagross capabilities to sweep w Agility were something that I really liked here, chose to add Suicune to add tanks agaisnt opposing physical threats like Tyranitar, Metagross, etc, and Snorlax here to tank opposing Suicune, sponge 2-3 hits from Special threats, and Boom on something you need to remove to win, finally Aerodactyl because team lacked of speed but it had 3 Boom to remove walls, so Aerodactyl fits amazing here since in late game it just sweep.
 
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